Roundup of the first ever SEC2U (Startup Europe Comes to Universities) week!
The first ever Startup Europe Comes to Universities (SEC2U) week has come to an end, with over 35 universities taking part, across 18 countries.
Startup Europe Comes to Universities (SEC2U) is a cross-border initiative that aims to showcase the commitment of European universities to create a culture of entrepreneurship and facilitate connection between the academic and entrepreneurial community.
In particular, it hopes to bring together universities, entrepreneurs, local government and local business people on university campuses across Europe. It is coordinated by the Startup Europe University Network and comes under the umbrella of Startup Europe, a European Commission initiative.
For this first edition of SEC2U, the participating universities hosted 38 different entrepreneurship events on their campuses, all during the same period, between 17th & 21st of October.
The grand opening
The first ever edition of SEC2U was kicked off on 17th October with an event in Brussels at the EBN.
After opening the event and introducing the SEC2U initiative, there was a roundtable entitled “What is the role of Universities in the startup and entrepreneurial ecosystems development?”
The week saw a great diversity of events, with the following universities taking part:
Albania: European University of Tirana
Austria: WU – Vienna University of Economics and Business
Belgium: EBN
Croatia: Algebra University College
Cyprus: European University Cyprus, University of Cyprus
Germany: Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Greece: Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Athens University of Economics and Business
Hungary: EötvösLoránd University
The Netherlands: Maastricht University
Ireland: Dublin City University
Israel: Bar Ilan University
Italy: Polytechnic University of Milan (Creative Industries Lab), Roma Tre University – Department of Engineering
Kosovo: Universum College
Lithuania: Mykolas Romeris University & ISM University of Management and Economics
Portugal: NOVA University of Lisbon, University of Lisbon – Faculty of Sciences
Romania: University Politehnica of Bucharest, AlexandruIoan Cuza University of Iasi, Stefan cel Mare University
Spain: University of Salamanca, U-TAD: Centro Universitario de Tecnología y Arte Digital, University of Cantabria (CISE project), Technical University of Cartagena, University of Granada, University of the Basque Country, University of Extremadura, University of Almeria
United Kingdom: Ravensbourne, University of Sheffield, London South Bank University, GSM London & Formation Zone London
Although all of the events were based on entrepreneurship, each University offered its own special perspective. For example, some universities showcased the culture of entrepreneurship within their own locations (their university or city), and others focused on particular expertise such as raising finance, learning from failure and innovative technologies.
A great success!
Overall, SEC2U had more than 2000 participants across 38 events hosted by the 35 participating institutions from 18 countries across Europe.
There were more than 1500 tweets & retweets with the #SEC2U hashtag along the week with a total reach of more than 1 million people!
What they said
It was very interesting and inspired me
I could talk face to face with young startuppers, they were so enthusiastic about their ideas
The speeches were really exciting
All in all it was a brilliant week which saw some excellent events and we hope to see you next year!
Useful information:
Startup Europe University Network: www.startupeuropeuniversities.eu
Startup Europe: startupeuropeclub.eu
SEC2U contact: Matevz Gantar, University of Salamanca / BISITE Accelerator
Huffington Post coverage of SEC2U
Small Businesses And Universities Should Seek To Benefit From Enhanced European Cooperation
In August a committee of MPs reported that universities and small businesses stood to gain from improved, more effective working relationships. To many working in this sector, this was not news. However the report was received as a welcome confirmation of the importance of universities adapting their services to the needs, priorities and culture of independent small to medium enterprises.
In particular, universities are well positioned to support the productivity enhancement and leadership development of SMEs and this takes place in a number of forms: tackling local skills issues through partnerships tailored to needs of the local economy; providing a new market for trading among small and medium-sized businesses; and providing access to key assets such as space for premises, knowledge for research and development, and marketing support.
However, on the face of it, a partnership between a university and a small business may not be the most obvious of pairings. For anyone who has worked in both environments, the contrasts can be quite stark. On the one hand, small businesses are extremely varied and need different things; they are often dependent on the personality of the owner-manager and characteristics of the market in which the business operates. On the other hand, universities are fairly homogeneous and tend to follow a particular, now well-established, organisational model. The workforce is fairly interchangeable, and individuals have less of a bearing on organisational personality or culture.
However, existing partnerships between universities and SMEs show that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. It is therefore vitally important for universities to continue to find ways to engage with the small business community.
A good example of this in practice is SEC2U (Startup Europe comes to the Universities), an initiative of the European Commission that operates through the Startup Europe University Network (SEUN). This week over 30 universities across Europe are holding events to present and promote the good work being done between universities and small business. This demonstrates the commitment of universities to create a strong culture of entrepreneurship and innovation not just in the UK but across the continent.
Markedly the partners in this initiative are not just universities and small businesses – Europe as a whole stands to gain. For example a SEC2U event at GSM London brought together business start-ups, entrepreneurs, business associations and chambers, university staff and students, incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, government representatives, and local development corporations.
By bringing this community together it was possible to integrate multiple perspectives on the start-up, rethinking what this might mean from the ground up. Listening to the views and experiences of local start-ups enables the effective re-thinking and re-formulation of policies, services, and environment for small businesses within the local area.
And when the exchange of lessons and findings from all the participating institutions are combined during the SEC2U week, support networks can be strengthened across Europe, enhancing the recognition of how universities, startups and local communities can work more closely together for the benefit of all.
The UK is currently navigating the post-referendum business landscape but I see no reason why this movement towards closer collaboration should not continue. The UK’s proposed withdrawal from the European Union will undoubtedly create challenges to facilitating this collaboration over time but, as SEC2U demonstrates, goodwill combined with proactive approaches can bring far-reaching benefits.
So in spite of the jolt of ‘Brexit’ and the current uncertainties, good momentum towards European collaboration is building. Britain’s universities and small businesses should continue to look to partners in Europe to share success, experience and to learn from the innovative entrepreneurial support programmes that already exist.
Retrieved from Huffington post on October 26th.
Welcome is excited to announce the 15th edition of the Tetuan Valley Startup School!
The Startup School workshops were created in order to help people to get started with their ideas. It is a good starting point if you want to develop a product and you do not know how. More information about the Tetuan Valley’s Startup School here.
Sessions will be having place on Wednesdays, starting at 19:00 and ending at 23:30. The program will consist of two parts: Mentors talk in first place and then there is Pizzas and Pitch Practice.
WHEN AND HOW to APPLY?
Applications to register into the program ended on October 10th and the program began on October 26th. The Startup School program will continue till its last session on November 30th.
This year there is no need of being accepted into the program to attend the talks – they are open to everyone for free.
SESSIONS
These are the talks that the mentors will be giving each week:
Session 1 (October 26th) Effective Presentations
- Welcome & Course introduction –Karel Escobar
- Entrepreneurs common mistakes / The way of the startup –Carmen Bermejo
- Effective presentations –Alex Barrera
Session 2 (November 2nd) Value Proposition Tickets Here
- Value proposition
- Customer validation
- Problem and solution interviews
Mentors to be confirmed
Session 3 (November 7th) Metrics Tickets Here
- Startups business models –Katelyn Melan
- Metrics –Justo Hidalgo
Session 4 (November 16th) Product Development Tickets Here
- Product Development –Jose Ignacio Fernandez
- Product UX –Carlos Sanchez
Hackathon (November 19th – 20th)
Session 5 (November 23rd) Legal Tickets Here
- Legal –Ignasi Costas
- Finances –Alfonso Sainz
Mentors to be confirmed
Session 6 (November 30th) Investment Tickets Here
- Investment basics –Guillem Sague
- Investors: startup point of view – Jaime Sánchez-Laulhé