By Eleni Vasiliki Bampaliouta
The educational trip for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Netherlands, within the framework of the Entrepreneurial University program, with the participation of 6 Greek universities, organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands, was successfully completed.
On June 5-8, an educational visit with a series of intensive workshops and networking opportunities took place in the Netherlands for the members of Technology Transfer Offices from 6 Greek universities and research centres. The visit was organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Athens, Preneurz.Amsterdam and Orange Grove, as part of their “Entrepreneurial University” initiative for innovation and entrepreneurship.
With the theme “Exploring Technology / Knowledge Transfer in the Netherlands”, the program focused on the Dutch experience in Technology Transfer from laboratories to society and the ways in which entrepreneurial thinking is developed in academic communities, further strengthening the social footprint of Higher Education Institutions and Research Centers.
The program included, among others, visits to the Starthub of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Science Park / Startup Village, the Humanities Venture Lab of the University of Amsterdam and the Leiden Bio Science Park, Leiden University. Each day focused on a different scientific field (technology transfer in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences and biomedical sciences), looking in depth at the corresponding opportunities, challenges and specificities (such as the design of know-how transfer strategies, infrastructure development, policies and methodologies) with the aim of providing as much multidimensional knowledge as possible.
The representatives of the Greek Universities visited a series of initiatives and infrastructures and became familiar with programs and synergies between researchers, startups, universities, established companies, Municipalities and/or the wider State, with the aim of innovations and research results of the entire range of scientific fields reaching society , through the appropriate channels and infrastructures.
The Dutch Ambassador to Greece H.E. Ms. Susanna Terstal, who met the participants at the end of the program, commented: “In our relationship with Greece, the exchange of knowledge and know-how is important. The “Entrepreneurial University” program is a good example of cooperation between our countries. The Dutch Embassy connects the Higher Education of Greece and the Netherlands in matters of innovation and entrepreneurship. In the last two years, through the workshops organized, universities and centers of the two countries have started to cooperate more with each other, with very positive results!
The program was led by Erik Boer and Arjan Goudsblom, co-founders of Preneurz Amsterdam, a Dutch organization with long experience in entrepreneurship and technology transfer in Dutch Universities and international know-how exchange.
The “Entrepreneurial University” program started in 2021 with a series of workshops (masterclasses) aimed at the exchange of know-how between the Greek and Dutch university ecosystems. Speakers share their experience and offer advice and answers to the questions and challenges posed by the participants, based on real examples of their universities, tools, approaches and policies that they themselves have tried and adopted or rejected.
The “Entrepreneurial University” program will continue in the next period through targeted actions and further collaborations with the University Institutions and Research Centers of Greece.
