Duration: 2022-2024
Project ID: 1161
Financing: EIT-HEI
Project level: international
Partners: University of Helsinki (Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland), Zagreb School of Economics and Management (Croatia), Reutlingen University (Hochschule Reutlingen - Technik-Wirtschaft-Informatik-Design, Germany), Vertical (Finland) + 10 Associated partners
Universities have the potential to widely impact society and the economy through the education of future entrepreneurs and the translation of academic research findings into innovative and, eventually, successful companies. However, this success is often limited by the scarcity of dedicated resources and a lack of proficient innovation and entrepreneurship support activities within universities. As a result, investments into one of the four phases of the innovation pipeline (idea, invention, incubation, and internationalisation) are often made at the expense of the others, even if these would be equally necessary for the effective and smooth transition of ideas into viable businesses. For universities to reach their full impact, an adequate support system all the way from ideation to start-up establishment and acceleration is required.
4InnoPipe takes on this challenge and aims at empowering universities at each stage of their innovation pipelines. This pilot project aims to foster academic innovation pipelines from start to finish, with a focus on technologies that promote healthy people and a healthy environment: foodtech, eco-innovation, and sustainable pharmaceutical.
The work plan covers the key elements of the innovation support system:
With the support of associate partners, 4InnoPipe will define the value that higher education institutions (HEI) represent within their regional innovation ecosystems and establish effective mechanisms to connect into local ecosystems. The project will serve as a pilot for joint activities, which will expand by 2030, using the established innovation support platform to scale up 4InnoPipe from faculties to universities.
