Executive Agency, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching for University Spin-Offs

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1 Executive Agency, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching for University Spin-Offs Final Report Public Part LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE

2 Project information Project acronym: Project title: Project number: Sub-programme or KA: Project website: SPIN-UP Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching for University Spin-Offs LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE ERASMUS Reporting period: From 01/10/11 To 30/09/2013 Report version: 1 Date of preparation: 22/11/2013 Beneficiary organisation: Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores do Porto Project coordinator: Gonçalo Meireles Project coordinator organisation: Advancis Business Services, Lda. Project coordinator telephone number: Project coordinator address: g.meireles@advancis.pt This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 2 / 26

3 Executive Summary The project SPIN-UP aims to create an Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme that contributes to the development of Key Entrepreneurial Skills, both technical and behavioural, essential to enable and leverage University Spin-Offs growth, and to deliver, additionally, Guidelines to help Higher Education Institutions integrating entrepreneurial learning into their curricula. Through its general and specific objectives, SPIN-UP is deemed to contribute to EU policies, mainly with respect to the lifelong learning goals, the Lisbon and the Europe 2020 strategies and the Employment agenda. SPIN-UP gathers the expertise of High Education Institutions (HEI), research institutes and consultancy companies from 3 countries to achieve innovative results. The European Level consortium includes 5 partners - INESC Porto (PT), Advancis Business Services, Lda (PT), Technical University of Delft (NL), Leaders2be (NL) and Lappeenranta University of Technology (FI) - and 2 active associated partners - Center for Technology Transfer of University of Lodz (Poland) and University of Porto (Portugal). The Project was successfully carried out between October 2011 and September During this period, the partners conducted research in 4 countries to support the specification of the Training and Coaching Programme, produced a Training and Coaching Programme with its very own learning methodology, tested the learning solution through a Pilot action held in 3 countries, organised a Training of Trainers to prepare trainers in the SPIN-UP methodology and elaborated guideline to assist Higher Education Institutions implementing entrepreneurial learning into their curricula, thus fulfilling all objectives initially set. In the future, partners intend to maintain a cooperation between them to commercially explore results by offering the SPIN-UP Programme to University Spin- Offs around Europe (and possibly beyond) and by creating new materials and knowledge on the subject of the growth of University Spin-Offs LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 3 / 26

4 Table of Contents 1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES PROJECT APPROACH PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS PARTNERSHIPS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 4 / 26

5 1. Project Objectives University Spin-Offs have a critical importance for a competitive knowledge-based economy as they are responsible for the creation of innovative, high added-value and high transferable profile services and products and for the creation of new knowledge-based jobs. Several studies show, however, that University Spin-Offs seldom grow beyond a relatively small size, which at some extend can be related to the lack of entrepreneurial skills of the academic entrepreneurs (Franklin et al, 2001). Knowing of the importance of University Spin-Offs for a competitive knowledge based-economy, it becomes critical to find ways of improving their growth through the development of Key Entrepreneurial Skills. University Spin-offs (USO) have a critical importance for a competitive knowledge based economy, as they are responsible for the creation of innovative services and products of high added value and high transferable profile in the international market and of new knowledge based jobs, moreover in the present economical situation On the other hand, as a knowledge based economy sets in, academics more frequently become entrepreneurs (new job: academic entrepreneur), stressing the need for entrepreneurial skills (new skills: academic entrepreneurial skills) in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) curricula. Several researchers claim, however, that USO do not grow or that they tend to grow in a slower pace than corporate spin-offs. This conclusion resides, mainly, in the fact that USO growth is highly influenced by their founders who frequently lack Key Entrepreneurial Competences (KES) From all entrepreneurial skills, one shows special relevance; Leadership is a key entrepreneurial skill that affects growth through the ability of the entrepreneur to adapt different leadership styles to different growth phases and the cognitive diversity and quality of the entrepreneurial team This whole setting suggests that HEI fail to prepare professors, teachers and students to be entrepreneurs and are ineffective in closing the knowledge gap of spin-offs Project SPIN-UP LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 5 / 26

6 OBJECTIVES The Project was set to create an Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme that could contribute to the development of Key Entrepreneurial Skills, both technical and behavioural, essential to enable and leverage University Spin- Offs growth. The Training and Coaching Program, intended for top managers at University Spin- Offs, gives preference to action learning, providing a stimulating learning environment in which trainees are challenged and tested through simulated business situations, and are led to interact with each other to solve problems. In addition, the Project intended to produce Guidelines to help Higher Education Institutions integrating entrepreneurial learning into their curricula. These Guidelines raise awareness concerning the need to more effectively prepare higher education students and entrepreneurs in general with regard to entrepreneurial skills, while at the same time it s expected to contribute to curricula s modernization according to new requirements of the labour market. These overall objectives translate into the following specific objectives: Research for Key Entrepreneurial Skills that can enable or leverage University Spin-Offs growth Develop a Training and Coaching Program to develop Key Entrepreneurial Skills in University Spin-Offs, including support materials Develop Guidelines to help Higher Education Institutions integrating entrepreneurial learning into their curricula LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 6 / 26

7 TARGET GROUPS The Project targets, in particular, University Spin-Offs and Higher Education Institutions, but it also directly benefits Education and Training Professionals. The main beneficiaries of the project are the University Spin-Offs. University Spin- Offs managers will profit from a training and coaching programme tailored to their needs and acting directly on the constraints that make them less effective managers, ultimately contributing to the growth of these enterprises. University Spin-Offs have been involved from the early stages of the project. They were targeted by a set of dissemination tools and actions to raise awareness about the Project and they participated in specific project activities research and pilot training - to ensure that the final results of the Project meet their needs. Dissemination tools and actions included project presentations held in the participating countries (and others), newsletters, a project website, a project Facebook page, a LinkedIn project page, the distribution of project leaflets and posters. As a result, more than 500 University Spin-Offs managers have had some kind of contact with project SPIN-UP. The participation of University Spin-Offs was essential in research activities to identify Key Entrepreneurial Skill lacking among managers. Managers of University Spin-Offs were interviewed and surveyed, enabling for the later specification of the Training and Coaching Programme. University Spin-Offs also participated in the pilot training held in Finland, The Netherlands and Portugal. Overall more than 30 have attended the pilot course, as planned, enabling the partnership to test and fine-tune the Training and Coaching Programme. The Higher Education Institutions, on the other hand, profit from the new knowledge generated by the project s research activity, from a new approach to the entrepreneurship education and new training materials, and from general guidelines to assist them incorporating entrepreneurial learning. This is expected to contribute to the modernisation of the Higher Education curricula and thus helping these institutions preparing students for challenges of the labour market and of the organisations. The activities involving and targeting Higher Education Institutions served 3 main purposes: to facilitate access to University Spin-Offs, to support the development of Guidelines on Entrepreneurial Learning and to ensure results future exploitation. To facilitate access to University Spin-Offs, 6 Higher Education Institutions from 4 countries were more directly involved in the Project - Lappeenranta University of Technology (FI), Technical University of Delft (NL), University of Porto (PT), University of Aveiro (PT) and University of Lodz (PL) LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 7 / 26

8 Higher Education Institutions were also approached and invited to participate in activities concerning the development of Guidelines on Entrepreneurial Learning. They were instrumental to get a perspective on the state of the art of Entrepreneurship Education and to define Guidelines to facilitate the introduction of Entrepreneurship Education in higher education. On the other hand, Higher Education Institutions were target by a set of dissemination actions, including presentation sessions, newsletters, etc., to present the project s results and facilitate their mainstream exploitation in the post-project. More than Higher Education Institutions were targeted. Finally, the Education and Training Professionals benefit from the development of a new approach to entrepreneurial learning for University Spin-Offs (the SPIN-UP learning methodology), as well as from the access to new educational contents and materials. These professionals were called to participate in the project by attending a Training of Trainers course, where they were prepared in the SPIN-UP learning methodology, allowing also to get from them some an insightful feedback on the structure, tools and methodologies envisioned for the SPIN-UP Training and Coaching Programme. Some of these professionals were later involved in the Pilot Training actions held in Finland, the Netherlands and Portugal. Finally, they were also targeted (individually and through organisations from the education/training sector) by several dissemination actions mainly to ensure the future exploitation of the project s results. Overall, circa 200 professionals were directly targeted and several thousands were potentially reached indirectly. IMPACTS SPIN-UP project is expected to have positive impacts at several levels: Academic researchers will have a better understanding of the impact of Key Entrepreneurial Skills on the growth of University Spin-Offs; Higher Education Institutions and their incubators will be in a better position to address the growth challenges of University Spin-Offs by offering new solutions for the development of Key Entrepreneurial Skills; Academic entrepreneurs will be better prepared to address growth challenges through increased self-awareness and increased Key Entrepreneurial Skills; Ultimately, University Spin-Offs will tend to grow more and to create new jobs in innovative areas, improving also competitiveness of the European knowledgebased economy LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 8 / 26

9 2. Project Approach The Project s approach involves a set of activities grouped in 8 work packages representing development, management, evaluation (quality assurance), dissemination and exploitation activities, for which the partners shared responsibilities, under an overall coordination. DEVELOPMENT The development activity was organised to make the most out of each partners experience and expertise, and generally used a research-based approach to achieve results tailored to end users needs. In the first year, the primary focus was to conduct a research to support the Training and Coaching Programme specification. With the research completed, the partnership was able to work on a preliminary version of the Training and Coaching Programme and to prepare and hold a Training of Trainers course as part of the development and future exploitation processes. In the second year, project s activities were centred around a Training Pilot, the development of the final version of LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 9 / 26

10 the Training and Coaching Programme and on the elaboration of Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions. The research aim was to identify Key Entrepreneurial Skills missing in University Spin-Offs. It initially involved a desk research to narrow down the overall research scope, enabling to create a Map of Skills and to develop Data Collection Tools to use in the field research. The field research involved 4 countries Finland, Netherlands, Portugal and Poland (supported by an Associated Partner) and included interviews and surveys conducted with members of University Spin-Offs management teams. The quantitative analysis of this data, complemented by qualitative information gathered in the interviews, led to the identification of Key Entrepreneurial Skills missing in University Spin-Offs. All research conclusions were then systematized onto a research report, whose executive summary is available in the project s website ( Overall, 54 in-depth interviews were conducted and 99 questionnaires gathered, involving a total of 99 participating University Spin-Offs of 4 countries. The preliminary version of the Training and Coaching Programme included complete drafted versions of the Programme Structure, the Training Manuals (for both Trainers and Trainees) and other Support Manuals Case Studies, Coaching Guidelines and Events Organisation. The development of these products first involved (re)defining the Programme (learning objectives, learning methods and structure) using the research conclusions and partners particular competences in training/education. The second step was to specify the topics to address in each training manual and other training materials that make up the Training and Coaching Programme; this called for partners expertises and additional desk research. Finally, the development of each of these materials was assign to partners. The Training of Trainers main objective was to prepare education and training professionals in the SPIN-UP learning methodology, so that they could participate in the pilots of the Programme foreseen for the second year of the Project, while it also allowed for getting a general feedback on the structure, outline and methodologies envisioned for SPIN-UP Training and Coaching Programme. To hold the Training of Trainers was first necessary to define this training action: learning objectives, structure and learning process. On the whole, 10 education and training professionals, from 3 countries Finland, Netherlands and Portugal - have participated in a two-day course held in Delft in late September The Training Pilot was a key activity, enabling to test the programme s structure and contents, in order to fine-tune to the needs of the University Spin-Offs managers. The pilot resulted in an Improvements Report. The pilot was held in 3 countries LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 10 / 26

11 Finland, The Netherlands and Portugal, where 30 University Spin-Offs have participated. The final version of the Training and Coaching Programme was developed upon the conclusion of the pilot testing. To achieve the final version it was necessary to work on the preliminary tested versions of the materials to improve them. All the main materials are now available in different languages (EN, FI, NL, PT) in the project s website ( and compiled in a CD-ROM available for Higher Education Institutions. The Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions is a summary of learning lessons regarding the implementation of entrepreneurial education. The development of this report implied a desk research on the state of the art regarding entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions and a workshop where specialists discussed what should be the main aspects to take into account when setting up educational programmes on entrepreneurship. ( EVALUATION The evaluation of SPIN-UP was set to guarantee the proper assessment of the Project s results against the set targets, as well as ensure that only quality results were disseminated and exploited, through an ongoing process involving selfevaluation, evaluation by peers and evaluation by beneficiaries. In the initial months, the priority regarding evaluation was to set-up a framework for the evaluation activities. This required, first, to define an evaluation strategy binding all partners and, second, to develop appropriate evaluation tools. These tools helped to carry specific evaluation activities throughout the project s lifespan. The evaluation strategy stipulates the objectives, the tools and the critical results and moments in the project to be subject to assessment, which ensures a coherent quality assurance approach and the commitment of all partners with quality planning. The evaluation tools support the evaluation strategy implementation. These tools include templates and guidelines to perform self-evaluations, evaluations by peers and evaluations by beneficiaries throughout the Project s lifespan LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 11 / 26

12 The evaluation activities refer to the actual assessment of quality standards of the project s outcomes and activities and the compliance with the project s initial planning, using the set of evaluation tools previously developed. The activities carried out were centred on partners self-assessment of the project s progress and results and on feedback from main target groups University Spin-Offs and Education and Training Professionals on main results, namely the Training and Coaching Programme and Pilot Training. As result 2 reports were elaborated gathering the conclusions from the evaluation activities: an interim report and a final report. VALORIZATION (DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION) The valorisation activities were set to guarantee the participation of the target end users in the development process and to potentiate future exploitation of results at a European scale, foreseeing a continuous dissemination effort that goes beyond the project s lifespan and that involved all partners in a real team effort. In the first year of the project, the main objective of the valorisation activities was to raise awareness about the project next to its main beneficiaries, in particular with the objective of getting them to participate in the research and in the Training of Trainers activities. For that purpose partners held 4 presentation sessions in the 4 participating countries for a total of 75 University Spin-Offs and representatives of organizations that have direct contact with these companies. Also a website and a Facebook page were created to present the Project and its results. With the particular objective of presenting the first research results of the Project, SPIN-UP was represented at an international conference (EICE-12-7th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship). Also to facilitate valorisation activities, the partnership created a project logo, visual identity (project recognition), leaflets, a poster and a database of contacts to use in the different dissemination activities. In the second year of the project, valorisation activities were taken to another level, as project s outcomes became available, allowing for more impact. These activities included 3 Newsletter sent out to more than contacts from the project s database, including University Spin-Offs, Higher Education Institutions and Education and Training Professionals. The website was improved and fed with up-to-date information. Several papers, articles and news releases were developed and publish to raise awareness about the project. With the same objective the results from SPIN-UP were presented in events LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 12 / 26

13 in the 3 partnership countries and also in Belgium and Turkey, enabling to reach directly more than 700 people from the target groups. Social networks were also used to reach the target groups with a relative success. MANAGEMENT The SPIN-UP management activity aimed to ensure an effective coordination over the work plan and the budget, by creating a team spirit, ensuring a continuous communication flow between partners and checking regularly on progress and expenses. To ensure the proper management the partnership agreed on a Management Strategy based on which specific Management Activities were taken into effect. The Management Strategy defined general principles and established the coordination structure and the tools to exercise an effective coordination of activities. Consequently a management structure was set up, comprised by a Strategy Management Group, a Project Manager and Work Package Leaders. The Strategy Management Group was assigned with strategic decision-making, while the Project Manager and Work Package Leaders dealt with day-to-day management at project and work package levels. To ensure the management functions, it was defined a number of management tools and mechanisms, namely internal reports, face-to-face partnership meetings, web meetings, among several others. The Management Activities included 5 face-to-face partnership meetings, which helped to establish a proper mind set for the project development, creating a real project team and guaranteeing the focus of the team members in critical moments of the project. Meeting memoranda were prepared after each meeting. Alongside these meetings, some web meetings were also held to discuss particular aspects of the project as they arose. Also quarterly internal reports focused on the analysis of deviations, dissemination activities and general budget issues, were prepared by all partners to help the coordinator keep track of the project s progress LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 13 / 26

14 3. Project Outcomes & Results The Project delivers a wide set of results that can be traced back to the established objectives. Objective 1 Research for Key Entrepreneurial Skills that can enable or leverage University Spin- Offs growth Objective 2 Develop a Training and Coaching Program to develop Key Entrepreneurial Skills Objective 3 Develop Guidelines to help Higher Education Institutions integrating entrepreneurial learning into their curricula Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme (Final Version) Overview on Entrepreneurship Training in Higher Education Institutions Map of Skills identifying entrepreneurial skills needed for University Spin- Offs Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme Pilot to test the Programme Workshop on knowledge transfer to Higher Education Institutions Interviews and survey to University Spin -Offs Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme (Version 0) for University Spin Offs Guidelines for High Education Institutions to integrate entrepreneurial learning in curricula Case Studies on University Spin- Offs Training for Trainers Programme and Course to prepare trainers Research Report on University Spin - Offs entrepreneurial key competences Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching Programme (Preliminary Version) for University Spin-Offs SUPPORT ACTIVITIES MANAGEMENT VALORISATION (DISSEMINATION & EXPLOITATION) EVALUATION Note: in violet colour are the main outcomes/results from the project LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 14 / 26

15 RESEARCH REPORT The Research Report summarizes the results from the research activities, namely conclusions from the desk research, survey, interviews and case studies. It identifies the missing entrepreneurial skills that negatively influence the growth of University Spin-Offs. It includes the Map of Competences, the data Collection tools used in the field research and analyses the research data gathered through interviews and questionnaires to the 99 University Spin-Offs from the 4 countries that have participated. From the analysis of the research data, the Report presents some interesting conclusions: The top five most often missing skills are concerned with (1) gaining financial capital, (2) internationalization, (3) human resources management, (4) intellectual ownership protection, and (5) financial literacy and management. In the remaining these will be named common missing skills. This result is only slightly different from the missing skills perceived by the entrepreneurs as hampering growth of the firm, where sales skills has jumped to the third place and marketing management has entered: (1) gaining financial capital, (2) internationalization, (3) sales, (4) financial literacy and management, and (5) marketing management. With regard to available entrepreneurial skills, most often mentioned are (1) technology management, (2) product/process innovation, (3) market dynamics and competition, (4) digital skills, and (5) entrepreneurial processes. Differences between countries are small, e.g. a high rank for strategic management skills in Portugal. As an implication: given the pattern of missing skills (hampering growth), the focus in the training and coaching program is to be on: (1) Financing for growth (financial literacy and management, and gaining financial capital); (2) Internationalization for growth (doing business abroad); and (3) Sales and marketing management. Eventually, building skills on human resources management is added. Moreover, spin-offs in Portugal tend to be behind in innovation level of their activities. This provides an argument for also focusing training/coaching on skills in innovation and innovation strategy. TRAINING AND COACHING PROGRAMME (PRELIMINARY AND FINAL VERSIONS) A first version of the Training and Coaching Programme, including the Programme Structure, Training Manuals and Support Manuals, was created upon the research results and using partner s expertises LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 15 / 26

16 PROGRAMME CONTENTS Entrepreneurship Training and Coaching for University Spin-Offs PROGRAMME STRUCTURE (includes evaluation guidelines ) TRAINING MANUALS Strategy for Growth Finance Planning for Growth Innovation, Marketing and Sales for Growth Internationalization for Growth HRM and Leadership for Growth SUPPORT MANUALS Events Organisation Coaching Guidelines Case Studies This version was subject to testing in Pilots held in 3 countries (see next), originating a final version. Programme Structure The Programme Structure defines the objectives, outline, learning approach and contents of the SPIN-UP Training and Coaching Programme. It also includes the guidelines for the evaluation of trainees. The Programme, as defined, gives preference to action learning, providing a stimulating learning environment in which trainees are challenged and tested through simulated business situations, and are led to interact with each other to solve problems. The Programme includes 5 modules and 2 events, with a total duration of 32 to 40 hours in-class. The modules are comprised of in-class training and coaching sessions every week or every two weeks. Training Manuals The Training and Coaching Programme Manuals include a Manual for trainers and one other for trainees, covering 5 thematic areas: Strategy for Growth Financial Planning for Growth Innovation, Marketing and Sales for Growth LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 16 / 26

17 Internationalization for Growth Human Resources Management and Leadership for Growth. The Manuals hold key concepts and specifically designed exercises to support simulation and other action learning activities. For the trainers manuals, in particular, it was added a section with teaching notes. Support Manuals The Support Materials include an Events Organisation Manual, Coaching Guidelines and Case Studies. The Events Organisation Manual is a practical document to guide the organisation of 2 events - one initial and one final event that are part of the Training and Coaching Programme. It mainly focuses on objectives and particular aspects of event organisation. The Coaching Guidelines sets a framework for the coaching sessions of the SPIN- UP Training and Coaching Programme and orients coaches over the right approach to adopt. The Case Studies, 4 in total, focus on different University Spin-Offs experiences from which lessons can be learned. The case studies are additional resources that trainers may use for action learning activities (exercises, role play, etc.), apart from the exercises included in the Training Manuals. These materials are accessible in the project s website ( TRAINING AND COACHING PROGRAMME PILOT The Pilot was a key activity, enabling to test the preliminary programme s structure and contents, in order to fine-tune to the needs of the University Spin-Offs. The pilot was held in 3 countries Finland, The Netherlands and Portugal, where 30 University Spin-Offs have participated. The conclusions of the Pilots were summarized in an Improvements Report based on which the partnership developed the final version of the Training and Coaching Programme, as referred above. The main conclusion of the Pilot was that the contents were adequate but some level of simplification could be introduced in some of the manuals. Also in terms of the structure of the programme, it was clear that the way training is organized should be adapted to each country or even to specific set of participants/trainees LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 17 / 26

18 TRAINING OF TRAINERS The Training of Trainers involved the development of a Training for Trainers Programme and the actual implementation of a 2-days intensive course that was hold in late September 2012 in Delft (The Netherlands). Training of Trainers Programme The Training of Trainers Programme sets the objectives, contents, methods and outline for the Training for Trainers course, and includes materials for the in-class presentation. Training of Trainers Course The Training for Trainers Course is a training action, with the duration of 2 days that was held in Delft for 10 participants from the 3 partner countries Finland, Netherlands and Portugal. This training primary objective was to prepare education and training professionals in the SPIN-UP learning methodology so that some of done could participate, as trainers, in the pilot of the SPIN-UP Training and Coaching Programme in the second year of the project. GUIDELINES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS The Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions is a summary of learning lessons for the implementation of entrepreneurial education. The development of this report implied a desk research on the state of the art regarding entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions and a workshop where specialists discussed what should be the main aspects to take into account when setting up educational programmes on entrepreneurship. The main conclusions are that entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions requires a lot of planning and the acknowledgement that there is the need to adopt a significantly different approach from the traditional models applying to other learning areas. The participants in these trainings have often high expectations and also different needs that require a focus on practical competences, active learning methodologies, learning with peers and networking, just to name a few LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 18 / 26

19 SUPPORT ACTIVITIES To support the project s implementation, some management, dissemination, exploitation and quality assurance outcomes and results were produced. Among them, some deserve mentioning: Project website and Social Networks The project Website, the Facebook Page and the LinkedIn group are the more visible presence of the project in the web. They present the project and the outcomes and results as they become available. The website got visits during the project duration. Project leaflet and Poster The project leaflet is a dissemination support material and presents the project s objectives, outline, expected results and team. It s available in 5 languages English, Finish, Dutch, Portuguese and Polish - and in electronic (download at and paper versions. The poster has the same purpose to disseminate the project. It s available in English and in electronic (download at and paper versions LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 19 / 26

20 Project Newsletters Project Newsletters highlights activities accomplished as well as the coming activities, to raise awareness and get the involvement of target groups. Project Newsletters, 3 in total, where sent in the 2 nd year of the project, each to contacts. They were also sent to ENTER Network (national contact point) database, to approximately 500 contacts. Newsletters are available for download in the project s website ( Project presentations & Presentations of Results The Project Presentations were held in different dates in the participating countries in countries outside the partnership, like Belgium and Turkey. These presentations had the participation of over 700 participants: University Spin-Offs, Higher Education representatives and other stakeholders LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 20 / 26

21 4. Partnerships The specific problem addressed by the project is common to all Member States. The lack of growth of University Spin-Offs is an important European (if not global) problem, as these entrepreneurial initiatives are critical for a competitive Knowledge- Based Economy (Rothwell and Zegveld, 1985; Mansfield, 1998; Martinelli et al., 2008). This importance is even more noticeable in the present economic situation Europe goes through. In this setting, the project development, dissemination and future exploitation clearly benefits from a European level consortium. The project development profited from the share of knowledge and experiences of the partners, but also of the direct contact with target groups, namely Spin-Offs, in the different countries involved. Despite the universal character of the specific problem addressed by the project, there are reasons to believe that cultural factors can influence the development of entrepreneurial skills of academic entrepreneurs. As it s widely recognized in academic studies, cultural factors interfere with the development of an entrepreneurial spirit in general, and thus with the development of entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, it was important to validate if significant differences arose from the fact that the project targets different European countries with cultural particularities. The research conducted in the SPIN-UP project exposed some differences in managers entrepreneurial skills and training needs for the countries involved, although they were not considered to be significant for the purpose of setting up a single Training and Coaching Programme. In fact, the research allowed concluding that University Spin-Offs in the different countries had more in common than initially anticipated. In result, the consortium expects to guarantee an outcome adaptable and transferable to an overall European context. On the other hand, being the problem the project addresses very relevant to Europe, the participation of different European Member countries in the partnership will allow for further dissemination and exploitation of the results and consequently to a wider impact. The development of guidelines, manuals and other products, translated in 4 languages (EN, FI, NL, PT), and the active participation of all partners in dissemination and exploitation actions, allows for a wide visibility of the project in the participating countries and beyond. The consortium benefits also from the support of other institutions that partnered with this effort, namely University of Porto (PT) and University of Lodz (PL). These institutions, have been contributing to the development of project s activities and to the dissemination and future exploitation of results. The partners will also disseminate the results through international networks and events LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 21 / 26

22 Also the experience of working with a multinational team is rewarding and enriching. Understanding and learning how companies and universities in other countries work, are organised, etc. contributes for a more integrated view of Europe LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 22 / 26

23 5. Plans for the Future With the ending of the Project (that coincides with the co-funded period) a new phase emerges. The main outcomes of the project will remain freely accessible to Higher Education Institutions that can use them as long as they clearly mention the origin of the materials. However, Partners have made plans of their own for the commercial exploitation of results, namely by organising and holding a yearly international edition of SPIN-UP course with the participation of several project partners and by publishing a book on SPIN-UP growth with material that resulted from the project but also with new material. To offer SPIN-UP programme in other markets is also an option to consider, namely in Brazil, some countries in Asia and Africa, taking advantage of each of the partners networks. Partners will, for that reason, continue their dissemination effort, as that is crucial to ensure the success of the future initiatives mentioned above. As such, the project website will be kept running and updated, and new efforts to publish articles in the press and scientific journals will be made. Also private meetings with key actors Directors from Higher Education Institutions and people at governmental level are foreseen, to facilitate the implementation of SPIN-UP s results. Already after the conclusion of the project, SPIN-UP made it to newspapers and radio, which is seen as an indicator of the interest the project and the training course generates LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 23 / 26

24 6. Contribution to EU policies The Project SPIN-UP contributes directly to EU policies at several levels, as it addresses different topics and publics. As a European knowledge-based economy sets in, academics more frequently become entrepreneurs creating what can be called a new job - the academic entrepreneur -, with specific skills requirements - academic entrepreneurial skills. By addressing this problematic, SPIN-UP is contributing to the New Skills for New Jobs initiative of the European Commission. The project helps to understand and define the requirements, in terms of entrepreneurial skills, of a relatively new profession: academic entrepreneur conceives a training and coaching programme to address the needs of this public and involves HEI to encourage curricula modernisation. At the same time, SPIN-UP contributes to the development of solutions to the European Paradox, known for the limited wealth creation from the highly publicly financed knowledge production at universities and research institutes (European Commission, 1995), as the Project provides tools to University Spin-Offs which are the vehicles for the commercialization of the research to make more efficient and capable to face the markets competitiveness. Also important, is the Project s contribution to the objectives of the Lisbon and Europe 2020 strategies. SPIN-UP contributes to a smart growth strategy and strengthening of University Spin-Offs, leading to the increase of private and public investment in research and innovation and facilitating the process of the commercialization of research results and innovative products and services LLP PT-ERASMUS-ECUE 24 / 26

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