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The questions I would ask social entrepreneurs before I start working with them [Based on the BASET Project]

6/5/2019

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questions to ask social entrepreneurs
Following the publications on our blog in the BASET project’s site - www.baset.info, let me share as a mentor and management consultant, what questions I would ask social entrepreneurs at my first meeting with them. The proposed questions neither exhaust all possibilities, nor claim universality. Any one of us - mentors and consultants - could ask more or less the questions below, depending on their own experience and concrete case.

Nevertheless, I believe that at the very beginning of starting my work with my client – the social entrepreneur, I have to sketch a general picture of the business idea and to understand the profile of the owner of it. 

Questions to ask social entrepreneurs

So, let me describe these questions with more details:

1. The first question concerns the motivation of the person. I would be very keen to have an idea what his/her motivation is and why he/she would like to start his/her own business in the areas of tackling social challenges and problems. I will ask the entrepreneur whether he/she knows what the expected impact is and whether he/she will rely on sustainable decisions. What the vision and mission are and how they are described? What does lead the entrepreneur to the realization of this idea?

​2. Secondly, it is commonly accepted that the inherited mentality of people is an important factor of their decisions to become entrepreneurs and to help other people. I would ask them to share with me whether in their family they have entrepreneurs or people who have led other people and managed projects, and if they have received tips and good examples from them? Or maybe they have been instructed or influenced by other leaders or concrete examples in a national or global context?

3. Next question concerns important competences. Does the entrepreneur know the social issues he or she will have to deal with as an entrepreneur and could he/she share with me what knowledge and competences still lack about this area, as well as for the economy and management of the company or the organization, which the entrepreneur plans to start-up or scale-up? Does the entrepreneur know well what difficulties and challenges await him on the way?

experience in working with social projects
4. The 4th question concerns what skills the entrepreneur would be able to rely on, so the social venture is successful? Does he or she know what skills they lack for being successful social entrepreneurs??

5. Next, I would like to know whether the entrepreneur has personal experience in working with social projects and/ or with doing classic business? I will ask the entrepreneur about his or her experience in a social enterprise or in a network that supports social causes? Any information I will receive about the previous experience of the social entrepreneurs can be very supportive for me as a mentor and consultant?

​6. My 6th question will be about empathy. I will be very interested to know what is the reason that the entrepreneur would like to be involved in solving social challenges. Whether this is philanthropy, social responsibility, the belief that everything is in our hands and this is their philosophy of life, or the understanding that every business is social when it is innovative, and that the social business model is more efficient in comparison with the classic ones, or this is a better approach of searching for justice, or for solving global problems, or all these things? Also, I would be very interested to understand if the entrepreneur is ready to achieve the goal, despite the anticipated difficulties and losses and he/she is ready to work hard towards reducing the risks of failure to a minimum?
7. The 7th question concerns the leadership and is one of the most important for me. I would be very curious to understand what the entrepreneur thinks about him/herself as a leader who can engage other people in solving the tasks and achieving social impact? What qualities are needed and are useful to become a business leader as well? Does the difference between the two types of leadership is known?

8. Next question concerns the integrity. Whether the entrepreneur knows the moral and ethical norms of doing business in regard to users, investors, customers, beneficiaries, competitors, suppliers, consultants, etc.? Is the entrepreneur ready to give up of the ideas and goals for achieving financial and social impact, if this overrides the norms?

9. The 9th question is about what is the social intelligence of the entrepreneur I would be engaged to work for.  Can the entrepreneur find stakeholders, supporters, partners and/ or a network of contacts that support their mission and intend to achieve specific social effects? How does he/she plan to include them in their initiative / project / enterprise to increase their chances of success?
10. And finally, the 10th and may be the most important question concerns the business model. Does my trainee or mentee have an initial idea of how he/she will create and sell something useful to the users, and how the target group will benefit? I would like to receive simple answers to the questions: who, why, what, how, to whom, and where? Can my mentee develop a more detailed operational business plan and do they know where they would seek some help? 


This package of questions may look quite large but form my experience any professional mentor, coach, consultant, or trainer can succeed of collecting all those answers within 30 minutes. The professionals can also use ready questionnaires that are included in our SEDM model and are posted in the site as self-evaluation questionnaires https://www.baset.info/for-social-entrepreneurs.html .

After making this preliminary picture of the business idea and the profile of the social entrepreneur, we can proceed with creating an individual plan for working with him or her.


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Author

Dimitar Hristov
Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club (KISMC)
www.innovation-mc.com





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13 Interesting Insights to Review from the International Conference 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030'

23/7/2018

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Digital Skills & Innovation @2030
The international conference "Digital Skills & Innovation @2030" that took place on 11 July 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria was attended by more than 150 delegates from various countries. The event was organised by the two partners of the "Design Thinking for Digital Innovation' Project - DigiThink No. 2016-1-BG01-KA203-023719 - KISMC and ULSIT, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

The conference was organised to reveal the results of the 2-years DigiThink project, where 6 organisations were working together: KISMC - Bulgaria, State University of Library Studies and IT - Bulgaria, University of Deusto - Spain, Tecnalia - Spain, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra - Slovakia, Training 2000 - Italy. In addition to that, the international conference "Digital Skills & Innovation @2030" brought together innovation and digital experts, entrepreneurs, investors, academicians, professionals and stakeholders in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. During the event like-minded people  had the opportunity to exchange views on various topics in the digital, innovation and entrepreneurship space and discuss potential collaboration.
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After months of preparation and hard work during the conference all DigiThink project partners shared the results of the project, whereas the conference had amazing speakers from the UK, Spain, Italy, Romania, the Netherlands, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Moreover, the conference had a workshop panel during which all delegates had a chance to participate in a competition game for design thinking, focused on the digitization and transformation of Sofia into a smart city and during the process they had to generate and share ideas and solutions in this direction.

The event was full of excitement, great networking over glasses of wine and plenty of follow ups bringing potential opportunities for everyone.

​If you didn't have a chance to join us at this illuminating event, we have recapped it in 13 interesting insights from the speakers, therefore please check them out below:
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1. Design Thinking for DigiThink

An approach based on Design Thinking was followed in the “Digithink” Project.
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  • Human Oriented approach: “Empathising”
  • We focus on the “creators” of new digital products and services, their needs and the environment for their activity.
  • In today’s fast developing and increasingly digital world, organizations face many challenges: disruptive technologies, economic pressures, globalization and, mainly, keeping up with changes in customer behaviour.
design thinking university of deusto
Source: University of Deusto


​2. Objectives for "Design Thinking for Digital Innovation"

  • to take students out of their comfort zone of learning to create innovative products and services
  • to encourage students to start their social businesses
  • to develop necessary digital skills for both target groups: student teams - digital business creation and lecturers – open educational resources in courses
  • to develop empathy, ethics, values, and sense of social responsibility.
design thinking for digital innovation unibit
Source: University of Library Studies and IT


​3. Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI)

  • A major part of the current EU Research Framework Programme “Horizon 2020” is dedicated to societal challenges.
  • Challenge-driven programmes are usually interdisciplinary and often cover the entire innovation chain from fundamental research to demonstration.
  • Within the R&I system there have been examples of controversies and failures in fulfilling societal expectations in part because not all key actors were engaged
  • Certain key issues (or policy agendas) need to be taken into account:
    - ethics
    - gender equality
    - governance
    - open access
    - public engagement
    ​- science education
responsible research innovation tecnalia
Source: Tecnalia


​4. Experience Logic Marketing & Design Thinking

Design thinking can help management to build the experience platforms of the organizations, suggesting the best way for the experiences providers.
experience logic marketing design thinking university of urbino
Source: University of Urbino


​5. The Agile School & Scrum Ban Lab for Business

The Scrum Ban Lab for Business with the main experiment of Agile School
  • A lab for experiments for creating didactic instruments based on the toolbox applied in real practice
  • Parents are the stakeholders in the education process and are kind of Product Owners, along with teachers
  • Teachers are moderators, mentors and observe the processes of building the "overall picture" as they are the Product Owners together with the representatives of the companies, organizations and institutions
  • Students self-organize, self-assess (somewhat) and work in teams / clusters
agile school ivan apostolov english school
Source: Ivan Apostolov English School


​6. Gameplay for Inspiring Digital Adoption (GIRDA)

  • GIRDA is using multiplayer touchscreen games to introduce older people to digital technology. The aim is to help them build confidence, motivation and skills in an informal, social setting where there is no pressure to learn.
  • Research has shown how trust and confidence in using the internet grow quickly with first-hand experience - but many older people don’t take the first step.
girda trajkovski partners consulting
Source: Trajkovski & Partners Consulting


7. Design Principles in Higher Education

Ensure that:
  1. The dimensions of wickedness are prevalent in the problem; and
  2. Student tasks are challenging and require them to get involved in the problem. This leads to the (experienced) open-endedness of the problem solving process and the need to cross boundaries.
  3. Ensure alignment between learning goals, coaching, assessment with regard to boundary crossing
  4. Organize milestones.
design principles windesheim
Source: Windesheim University of Applied Sciences


​8. Is Design Thinking the Right Tool?

Is design thinking the right tool for:
  • developing technology enablers?
  • creating startups?
  • easily design products?
design thinking tool university of deusto
Source: Business School, University of Deusto


​9. Cluster & Digital Innovation Hub

The ARIES IT cluster in Cluj-Napoca - a great example for an active cluster that initiated a Digital Innovation Hub in Transilvania - a bottom up approach of the regional stakeholders, aiming to position Cluj and Transilvania on the map of EU network and DIH.

​An important component within the cluster is the development of working groups such as:
digital innovation hub ARIES T
Source: iTech Transilvania Cluster by ARIES T


​10. Design Thinking & Intrapreneurship

How to innovate?
Where to start from?

No, it's not creating ideas...
It is FINDING PROBLEMS.

​Combining empathy, creativity, collaboration and prototyping.
intrapreneurship design thinking mjv technology innovation
Source: MJV Technology & Innovation


​11. Entrepreneurship & Innovation

The relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation:
  1. Entrepreneurs use innovation to drive and achieve change for commercial or socio-economic results
  2. Innovation underpins the differentiator that allows the entrepreneurs to succeed by utilising their unique skills-set and personality
Ewa Galeziowska Entrepreneurship innovation
Source: Ewa Galeziowska


​12. SMEs Innovation & Growth Acceleration

  • SMEs represent 99% of all business in the EU
  • SMEs are the backbone of the economy and have skills they can leverage
  • Start-ups are interesting but risky (96% die before they turn 5 years)
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That is why ​the IXLerator has been designed to take multiple teams in the creation of the
innovation process system and obtaining results in SMEs.
smes innovation growth acceleration ixl center
Source: IXL Center

13. Smart Cities & Accelerating Innovation

​The participants got involved in a competition game based on design thinking and focused on the digitization and transformation of Sofia into a smart city. During the process all attendees were separated into teams and generated and shared ideas and solutions on how to better integrate technology into the capital of Bulgaria for the better lifestyles of citizens. This part of the conference was assisted by Cluster Sofia Knowledge City, which aims at transforming Sofia from a traditional capital to a knowledge and smart city.
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​Conclusion

The keynote speakers and the conference participants did engage in insightful discussion on the 13 topics above and we believe that everyone had a chance to learn something new and interesting that would benefit them.

If you didn't have a chance to attend, don't forget to follow our social media as well as sign up for our Newsletter.
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6 Reasons to Attend the International Conference 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030' [Sofia, 11 July 2018]

30/6/2018

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6 reasons to attend the international conference 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030'
get your free ticket for 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030'
If the news hasn't reached you online or through invitations yet, there's an event not to be missed - the international conference 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030', which is taking place at Inter Expo Center, Sofia on 11 July, 2018. It will bring together innovation and digital experts, entrepreneurs, investors, academicians, professionals and stakeholders in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. The perfect place to meet like-minded people and exchange views on various topics in the digital, innovation and entrepreneurship space.

However, most of us know, have seen or/and have attended the large number of events that have been taking place in Sofia and Bulgaria in the last 6 months because of Bulgaria holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Despite that, we believe that 'Digital Skills & Innovation @2030' will bring value to you and below you can find 6 reasons why you should attend it.
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Learn more about the conference


​1. Conference programme featuring international panellists

The event will feature panellists from the UK, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Macedonia and Bulgaria who have international experience in various industries in the area of digitization, innovation, entrepreneurship and education.
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2. Panels with exciting topics to inspire hot discussions

Our panellists will have the opportunity to present their international experience and get into discussions to encourage everyone to look through different perspectives, exchange ideas and points of view on how entrepreneurship and innovation are changing the world, the importance of digital skills nowadays, managing innovations, design thinking for the software industry, problem solving in higher education, accelerators, agile schools, etc.
Review Conference Programme
Learn more about the panellists


​3. Deeper understanding of Design Thinking for Digital Innovation

Get your hands on the guide for implementation of design thinking for digital innovation and learn more about this exciting project - DigiThink, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. You would also discover and grasp deeper understanding of the results from the pilot testing done during the project duration.
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4. Practical workshop / Competition game on Design Thinking

Facilitated by Milena Koleva (IMA), Massimo Andriolo (IXL), Ruslan Papazyan (Trelleborg) and other mentors from the Innovation Management Academy, you will have the chance to go through the design thinking process. You will get involved in a competition game for design thinking, focused on the digitization and transformation of Sofia into a smart city and during the process you & your team will generate and share ideas and solutions, based on the model of the Global Innovation Managament Institute and IXL Center.
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​5. Wine Networking

There's no need to mention the importance of networking and meeting like-minded people, especially when you have a glass of wine in hand after a day full of insights on topics such as digital skills, innovation, education, entrepreneurship, etc as well as experiencing games on design thinking for digitizing and transforming the capital of Sofia.
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6. Meet all the project partners/conference organizers for potential future collaboration

And last but not least, SULSIT and KISMC, together with all the DigiThink partners: SULSIT, University of Deusto, Technalia Research & Innovation, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra and Training 2000, welcome everyone to join and have a chat about potential projects and partnerships.
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KISMC at the Focus Group on the Social Entrepreneurship Development Model [Bulgaria]

28/2/2018

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sedm kismc baset focus group
On 31 January a group of stakeholders in social entrepreneurship gathered together with the teams of the project coordinator KISMC and the project partner CEED Bulgaria in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The group gathering took place as part of the main project objective of 
BASET: Boost Aid for Social Entrepreneurship through Training which is to establish and maintain a well-developed and a more effective the process of training the trainers of social entrepreneurs (SE).


For more information on the focus group, please read here


The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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KISMC at the BASET Project Kick Off in Sofia, Bulgaria [Social Entrepreneurship]

13/12/2017

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kism baset sofia meeting
​On 26 October 2017 the BASET project kicked off with a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria where all partners – the project coordinator Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club (KISMC) and the project partners CEED Bulgaria, IDEC, Caban Capital and Creative District – launched BASET: Boost Aid for Social Entrepreneurship through Training [Project No. 2017-1-BG01-KA204-036360].

The project has been successful in the Erasmus+ call in 2017 and consequently co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union for its 2-years' implementation. Erasmus+ is the European Union’s (EU) programme for education, training, youth and sport, with the EU committing £12 billion to the programme between 2014 and 2020. By 2020 it is expected that over 800,000 education and training staff and youth workers will teach or train abroad across Europe with Erasmus+. Projects provide opportunities for learners and staff to improve their skills, enhance their employability and gain cultural awareness.

During the kick off meeting in Sofia all partners discussed their previous experience in social entrepreneurship and agreed on an agenda that would focus on producing quality intellectual outputs that would assist all stakeholders in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
For more information on the blog publication, where you can also review more details about the BASET project, please read here

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Scaling Up in Europe at Steps2Scale

27/11/2017

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Scaling up in Europe at Steps2Scale
Steps2Scale is a new project where the Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club is a partner along with other organisations from Bulgaria, Austria, Spain, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The project has been co-funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union and aims at creating a harmonized qualification and competence framework for the profession Scaling up Adviser which currently does not exist in any EU country.
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Why a project for scaling up in Europe?

To those who haven't had a chance of exploring this topic, it is a fact that Europe is hosting around 4200 scaleups (SEP Monitor; Scaleup Europe, June 2017). 

INFO: * Scaleups are high tech companies with minimum 5 years of experience on the local market, already proven and well established market niche, have developed internationalization strategy and readiness to go and find new markets as well as add value by identifying and realizing win-win opportunities for collaboration with established companies. Scaleups are already past the search phase, thrive in the execution phase of the business model and exist on top of a solid startup ecosystem.

​The new Start-up and Scale-up Initiative of the European Commission (EC) focuses on providing opportunities for innovative entrepreneurs to become world leading companies, improving the conditions for startups and scaleups and enhancing competitiveness in Europe. Besides this initiative, there are joint efforts to boost the growth of startups and SMEs in Europe but it has been concluded that very few make it beyond the critical first few years. Therefore, the European Commission is determined to change that and help startups deliver their full potential by creating a culture that supports growth. We all know that it is considered that small businesses are the backbone of a country's economy, but exploring deeper it does appear that growing companies bring prosperity whereas such an ecosystem needs to be cultivated and stimulated.

"The goal is for Europe to become the first choice for ambitious entrepreneurs to set up and grow their breakthrough business ideas into successful companies in well-performing ecosystems. In return, they will create new jobs, foster social responsibility and some will become global leaders." (Start-up and Scale-up Initiative; EC, 2016).

What are the Steps2Scale's objectives?

The objectives in the Steps2Scale project are concentrated on the development of support system in the field of adult education and training; support to entrepreneurs in the key phase of the lifecycle of their business and support the entrepreneurial culture in Europe whilst establishing new innovative managers too.

Partners in Steps2Scale

  • Bulgarian Industrial Association – Union Of The Bulgarian Business, Coordinator, Bulgaria
  • Birmingham Chamber Of Commerce And Industry, United Kingdom
  • University of Deusto, Spain
  • ECQA GmbH, Austria
  • Obrtno-Podjetniska Zbornica Slovenije, Slovenia
  • Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club, Bulgaria


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The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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KISMC at the 2nd BASET Project Meeting held in Greece

27/4/2017

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KISMC BASET Greece

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​On 2 April 2018 all partners in the BASET project gathered for the 2nd project meeting in Piraeus, Greece. The project coordinator Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club (KISMC) and the project partners CEED Bulgaria, IDEC, Caban Capital and Creative District presented social entrepreneurship case studies from each country with regard to the Social Entrepreneurship Development Model (SEDM) for BASET: Boost Aid for Social Entrepreneurship through Training.

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For more information on the Project Meeting in Greece, please read here

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7 fascinating conclusions from the international conference "INNOVATION - Creating the Future"

12/12/2016

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The international conference "Innovation - Creating the Future" was attended by more than 200 delegates from over 15 countries, brought businesses and universities together and provoked them to brainstorm on how to work together for a better future for both parties and how innovation could be an integral part for a better collaboration.

After months of preparation and challenges the team at the Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club together with the State University of Library Studies and Information Technolgies and the partners from the Erasmus+ funded APInno project did host not only a successful event summarising the benefits the results of the project will bring, but an event full of excitement, great networking and plenty of follow ups bringing potential opportunities for everyone. There have been missed flights, travelling for days to come from the other side of the globe, emotions, exhaustion, sleepless nights for some but the enthusiasm and the sparks around the conference main hall and additional rooms were simply amazing.

The whole APInno team were also extremely delighted to have 20+ universities from different countries, 80+ companies, social partners and policy makers which contributed to a valuable discussion throughout the whole day of 21 November 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

If you missed the opportunity to join us at this illuminating event, we have recapped 7 conclusions drawn from the conference day below.

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1. Innovation for collaboration needs a structured process

Innovation plays a focal role in the university and business collaboration BUT this role needs to be structured the same way innovation is a systematic process. Therefore, after trials and erros for 2 years the APInno project established an innovation management methodology which is based on expriential learning in order to bridge the large gap between what workforce universities 'produce' and what companies actually need. The methodology shows us that from the messy idea generation moment through concept development and pipeline management, execution and implementation have to follow.

2. The university model requires a fundamental change

The public is already beginning to question the value higher education provides to society. It is obvious that things need to change as we can all observe how students have troubles finding appropriate jobs after graduating and trying to settle their debts which they took to be able to study at a university. Therefore, instead of making money and contributing to the economy, students waste time and incur expenses. Yes, the university model needs to be fundamentally altered so they could feed businesses with the energy and enthusiasm of skillful employees ready to 'fight' in a competitive world where innovation is not only a buzz word but reality.

3. Innovation is not about technology at all

We see new mindsets, new generations, new organisations appearing on the horizon. We also see new markets emerging. The world has moved from having thousands of businesses each with millions of customers to millions of businesses with hundreds of thousands of customers. This is a result from shifting to technology-supported industries. However, innovation is not about technology at all, it is about how we efficiently and effectively use what we have in order to produce value for ourselves and others.
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4. Design thinking - a buzz word for business success?

Perhaps most people have already observed that creativity and innovation have become buzzwords for business success, followed by terms such as ‘Design Thinking’ creeping into business education. However, some research shows us that there is around 20% decline in creative capacity of learners in the past 20 years. In an era when creativity is in demand, we need to first understand the creative thinking process and the difference between implementation (doing things that are determined by others and matching against their expectations) and innovation (producing multiple and varied solutions that respond to change and often surprise).

5. Entrepreneurs have to focus on designing

The entrepreneurial journey is simple: starts from an idea, right through a business model to the business plan. However, entrepreneurs need to take into consideration the market desirability, financial viability and technical feasibility of the business they are trying to establish. Therefore,  designing a business model is the essence of a business opportunity, whether it is to be pursued in a start-up, corporate venturing or social entrepreneurial setting.

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6. Balance the academic and commercial interests

Universities are a great source for technological opportunities for creating high-technology ventures. Despite that, universities are generally characterized as having weak capabilities for the development of commercial applications. The academic culture values getting its hands on research, but the commercial and entrepreneurial aspect comes right outside it and this is a sensitive issue. Academia has to develop not only creative and confident minds but commercially oriented graduates prepared for the business challenges they will come across.

7. Internships and real work for students is a must

The APInno project has proven once again the importance of business and academia partnership. But the collaboration focuses on the topic of innovation and this has brought new amazing ideas for future work on assisting the two parties. The project sets out important points to look at, for example, how such collaboration can accelerate the university-work transition for students through internships and how setting real innovation challenges to be solved by students could be a real asset for businesses. Indeed, it's a win-win for everyone.

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Last chance to register for "INNOVATION - Creating the Future" [Only 18 places left]

15/11/2016

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Don’t miss out on a conference programme featuring speakers from the UK, Spain, South Africa, Romania and Bulgaria who have international exprience in various industries in the area of innovation, entrepreneurship and education.

The event is almost fully booked
and we don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity where you have the chance to not only get into great discussions Innovation in Education & Education in Innovation, but play games and network with over 150 guests from 15+ countries.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER NOW


With only a few days until the "INNOVATION - Creating the Future" conference opens its doors on 21 November 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria, there are still 18 places left (at the time of speaking). Of course, if these are taken up fast, then you would get on our reserve list and wait until someone already registered drops out. Therefore, you could still have a chance to make the most of such an event and network with all the international delegates on coffee, lunch and a glass of wine by REGISTERING NOW.


Having in mind that the conference does not have a registration fee, all you need to do is hurry up and go to the event page, review the information and register as soon as possible in order to secure your spot at the conference.

REMINDER: The conference registration is by 17 November 2016


The focus of "Innovation - Creating the Future" would be on opportunities and challenges businesses and universities face in working together for mutual benefits. It will give you the opportunity be to contribute to a positive change in the business-university collaboration through innovation.
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Innovation in Education & Education in Innovation [Join the discussion on 21 November]

14/11/2016

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In this blog publication we are presenting the discussion panels speakers of the international conference "INNOVATION - Creating the Future" which will take place on 21 November 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

We have experts and professionals with experience in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship, new business model generation, knowledge management, open innovation and social innovation, design thinking, R&D, business development, startups, NGOs, etc. In the meantime, if you are also curious to review the experience of our keynote speakers, you can find more information here.

With the event approaching in less than a week and registration closing on 17 November, you can review the speakers at the two discussion panels Innovation in Education & Education in Innovation below and decide if you would like to come and meet all the speakers and international guests from over 15 countries (the number keeps growing with every post we write).
  • Innovation in Education - best innovation practices in education and the contribution of businesses to the business-university collaboration
  • Education in Innovation - best practices of education contributing to the business innovation and collaboration of academia with organisations
READ MORE AND REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE NOW



Innovation in Education

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Estíbaliz Hernandez is a researcher at Mondragon Innovation & Knowledge (MIK), the research center for organizational management of Mondragon Corporation and is also the Director of the Degree in Business Administration at the Faculty of Business of Mondragon University (Basque Country, Spain), where she is a lecturer too. Both MIK and the University of Mondragon are part of the Mondragon Corporation, a leading Spanish business group, integrated by 250 business cooperatives with presence in 41 countries that employs more than 80 000 people. Her research has been mainly conducted in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship, new business model generation and knowledge management. She is a PhDc in the domain of User Driven Innovation in Service Industries, and holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Deusto (Spain) and the Hoge Hotelschool Maastricht (Holland) and an MBA Master from the University of Mondragon (Spain).

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Pilar Tovar is a Social Educator and Educational Psychologist who works at Fondo Formación Euskadi (Trápaga, Basque Country). She holds a Master Degree on Human Resources and a Master Degree (with Honours) on Social Innovation and Culture Industries and is also an expert on Community Correct Process (PROCC Methodology). For several years, she has jointly been leading Demola Basque Country node as part of the Demola network: a co-creation and open innovation project. Pilar, along with her team, guides companies and students by giving them the opportunity to work together, learn from each other and develop new joint solutions (DEMOS) in a highly innovative environment. As a coach, mentor and facilitator of these projects, she designs her own tools and methodology in social business (Value creation proposition) and open innovation ("Design Thinking", "Thinking out of the box", "learning by doing and solving problems"). Pilar is also a social entrepreneur. For years she has been leading projects with schools, Public Care centers and the Community in healthy diet, launching building relationship promoting social Cohesion, networks, etc.

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Magda Ropotan is an Innovation Consultant and Design Thinking Facilitator from Romania.  After 13 years of working in human resources for large corporations, such as Honeywell, Genpact and IKEA, both in Romania and internationally, Magda moved into consultancy, supporting companies to innovate organically through the creativity and involvement of their own employees. Her clients range throughout Europe for whom she facilitates innovation projects, training, coaching and consultancy for their innovation strategy. She is also teaching innovation classes within several entrepreneurship education programs in Romania. Magda holds a degree in Robotics Engineering and studied about innovation, foresight, design thinking and trends in Silicon Valley, Denmark and Netherlands.


Watch the conference video now!


Education in Innovation

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Ruslan Papazyan is the Regional Managing Director of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions responsible for Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine and is also Head of Trelleborg’s Export Markets in South-East Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before joining Trelleborg he held various positions in ABB Sweden such as manager business development, group manager R&D and R&D project manager. He graduated the Electrical Engineering Department of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden as a Doctor of Science. Ruslan also won a prize for best R&D in the field of maintenance techniques for the electric power industry from the Swedish Electrical Utilities' R&D Company - ELFORSK. He holds an MBA from the University of Sheffield and had been rewarded “Next Generation Manager” amongst 54 Bulgarian managers.

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Steve Stott is an experienced offline and online multi-channel retailer with a passion for helping people succeed with over 20 years multi-level retail experience providing support, training and motivation to start-ups and growth companies. Having set up and ran a successful online business he understands the unpredictable world of running your own business. Steve is currently offering business consultation in collaboration with DEW (Developing Entrepreneurial Winners).

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Svetlana Lomeva was appointed Director of the Sofia Development Association by the Sofia Municipal Council. She holds an MA degree in Political Science from Sofia University. She has been Deputy Minister of Education, Youth, and Science (2009 – 2010). Mrs. Lomeva is one of the founders and Director of the Bulgarian School of Politics (2001 – 2009) and the Political Academy for Central and Southeastern Europe. Svetlana has had several specialisations at Robert Schumann Institute, Budapest; the American University in Bulgaria; the Council of Europe.

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