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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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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.

LEARN MORE AND GET YOUR FREE TICKET NOW
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6 remarkable keynote speakers at the international conference "INNOVATION - Creating the Future" in Sofia

4/11/2016

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Speakers at INNOVATION - Creating the Future
The APInno team behind the international conference "INNOVATION - Creating the Future" which will take place on 21 November 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria is pleased to have amazing speakers with diverse backgrounds and experience in innovation, entrepreneurship and education.

In this blog post we are showcasing the keynote speakers and their experience while we will still have a publication about our speakers at the discussion and games panels. Although you would notice that most speakers are representing universities, all of them have a broad industry exprience ranging from starting businesses on a variety of continents to management exprience in the creative and hospitality sector, aerospace and electronics to leading institutions commercialising innovation. In addition to the industry practice, our keynote speakers provide trainings and lectures in areas such as entrepreneurship, innovation management, cultural management, design thinking, 3D printing and others.

Our 6 speakers are either former or current Innovation Managers, Entrepreneurs, Senior Managers, Directors, CEOs, Trainers and Researchers. Therefore, you would be able to hear every side of how to make innovation happen.

Take a closer look below to find your added value in the conference where you would not only listen to the speeches, but where you could take part in the discussions and meet all the speakers and international guests from over 12 countries.

Learn more about the conference


Keynote Speakers

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1. Dr. Simon Best - Middlesex University, United Kingdom

Simon is a Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University Business School. He is the Programme Leader for the M.Sc. Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship and the Project Leader of EDH@MDX, the enterprise development hub. He is also the university lead for APInno and SBeA, two Erasmus funded projects. Alongside these roles Simon is a Teaching Fellow. Simon has been involved in entrepreneurship on a global scale. Over a period of 30 years he has started businesses in India, Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea and Australia. Simon has also been a consultant to small and medium businesses in Japan, Taiwan, India, South Africa and Viet Nam. More recently he has been delivering workshops and seminars in Hungary, USA and Viet Nam to emerging entrepreneurs.


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2. Prof. Andy Penaluna - University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United Kingdom

An international thought leader in developing enterprising creativity through education, Andy has advised Welsh Assembly and Westminster Governments and is an expert at the United Nations in Geneva. He has led discussions at the European Commission, developed teacher training for 8 countries in South East Europe, and was commissioned by the OECD to write international education policy guidance. Funded by the World Bank, he also led the development of what is believed to be the world’s first integrated (compulsory) school curriculum for innovation and entrepreneurship in Macedonia (FYROM).


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3. Dr. Zuleika Beavan - Middlesex University, United Kingdom

Zuleika has more than two decades of experience in the creative industries and she was a senior lecturer in Arts Management at the Arts University Bournemouth, taught on the MA in Cultural Management at the University of Winchester and was a researcher in the Cultural Management Applied Research Group at the University of Greenwich. Drawing on her research focus of work in the music business, Zuleika's PhD was a longitudinal study of musician start-ups. She also has an interest in the effects of technology on the industry and is carrying out a Research Council-funded case study of a Kickstarter-supported album recording and release.


Watch the conference video!
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4. Eduardo Díaz - Fundacion madri+d, Spain

Eduardo is currently in charge of the new technology-based firms unit at Fundacion madri+d. He is a former Innovation Manager consultant and university lecturer. Eduardo is an expert in the fields of startups, innovation, regional development, technology auditing, technology transfer and cluster policies and he also has technical and management experience in the electronics and aerospace sectors. Eduardo is coordinating regional, national and international programmes in the fields of Entrepreneurship, Startup Funding, Venture Mentoring and R&D Commercialisation including Innovation and Entrepreneurship studies and publications. 


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5. Raluca Pauna - Institute of Inventors and Innovators, South Africa

Raluca is the director of the Institute of Inventors and Innovators and EgoliBio incubator/SEDA in South Africa as well as the CEO of the Global Institute of Accelerating Innovation. Having started her career in Romania working at Government Ministerial Departments and at the Research Institute of Fine Mechanics and Instruments, Raluca took on an international career as a member of the EU Leadership Thinking Tank in Brussels and then onto TECHNONET AFRICA, a network for supporting Africa's entrepreneurs. She is qualified (Stanford, CA) to do Design Thinking sessions and focused trainings for emerging innovators and entrepreneurs such as Innovation Management, Technical Entrepreneurship, Strategic and Marketing Planning for Commercialisation of Innovation and applied Competitive Technical intelligence methodologies and tools. Raluca has also been an IBM International mentor for the IBM Global Entrepreneurship Programme since 2013 and was a judge in the panel of judges for the Innovation Summit Garage at Cape Town Competition 2014. At present she is also organizing 3D printing training using design thinking methodology in collaboration with VUT.


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6. Prof. Dimo Dimov - University of Bath, United Kingdom

Dimo is a professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the School of Management, University of Bath. He has recently been recognised as one of the 100 leading entrepreneurship professors for 2015. Prior to joining the University of Bath, in 2012, Dimo was on the Entrepreneurship faculty at Newcastle University, on the Management faculty at University of Connecticut and on the Entrepreneurship faculty at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. Prior to entering academia, he enjoyed a career in the hospitality industry with Marriott International and was a finance director for two hotel businesses in Budapest, Hungary.

It's Time...

With the “Innovation – Creating the Future” conference approaching, we advise you to register as soon as possible because places are filling up fast. We would like to remind you that there is no participation fee and you can REVIEW THE CONFERENCE INFORMATION and REGISTER HERE



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International Conference "INNOVATION - CREATING THE FUTURE"

20/10/2016

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The international conference "INNOVATION - CREATING THE FUTURE" will present the results of the Action Project for Innovation (APInno) under the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport - ERASMUS + . The conference will showcase the final results of a two-year project where international partners from the UK, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria had been working on developing an experiential learning methodolgy in the field of innovation management  for fostering the partnership between business and universities.

"INNOVATION - CREATING THE FUTURE" will take place on 21 November, 2016 in Inter Expo Center Sofia, Musala Hall, blvd. "Tsarigradsko shose" 147, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria.

Innovation Culture

The topic and concept of innovation management is still underexploited in Europe despite the efforts and financial resources provided by the respective framework programmes and financial instruments. Although а common standard is established, the concept of systematic management of innovation is not very widely used in reality. Business leaders agree that the insufficient innovation and entrepreneurial culture is holding back Europe’s economic growth. In this respect innovation management is and will be the necessary tool for businesses to achieve higher competitiveness and better conditions for economic results.

Business-University Collaboration

The APInno project aims at fostering business–university collaboration as one of the key factors enhancing the innovation culture in organisations. The project partners followed an innovative approach, developed and tested a new model and methodology for new skills and knowledge development in the field of systematic management of the innovation process. Moreover, a flexible and holistic model for successful partnership between companies and universities has been developed. Its further use and implementation could help organisations be more innovative and successful.

THE CONFERENCE

The conference will provide the opportunity for discussion of the future challenges higher education and business organisations face; exchange of good practices and experience, both by business and several academic organisations in Europe. The keynote speakers and panelists  have many years of experience of teaching and consulting in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The partners in the project are: Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club, University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, Anfi Ventures, Tecnalia, JODA Training and Middlesex University.

We advise you to register now to secure your place at the conference.


register now
See Conference Agenda
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APInno Reference Number: - 2014-1-BG01-KA203-001561
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Workshop on business needs at Middlesex University [Action Project for Innovation]

11/5/2015

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On 7 May 2015 an interactive workshop was held at Middlesex University where the draft methodology based on initial research under the Erasmus + Project - Action Project for Innovation (APInno) was presented and discussed. Feedback from delegates was gathered and reflected in the revised methodology and final outcomes. The presentation was followed by a practical workshop where delegates were given the opportunity to experience the proposed learning methodology through real business challenges.

Action Programme for Innovation (APInno) involves partners from across the EU to develop a methodology to facilitate the transfer of innovation skills from Higher Education Institutes (HEI) to business. The project aims to develop an experiential learning programme (at degree and/or masters level) as part of the HE curriculum.

This will integrate the critical fundamentals of business, innovation management, growth, competitive dynamics and market simulation. The planned outcome will be the development of innovative course materials, online tools and a platform enabling idea generation and capture; including team work and analysis at successive stages of the curriculum, through to the final presentations.

Participants from academia and business had the opportunity to network and discuss  the draft methodology to date and played interactive games where the entrepreneurs and business delegates had to solve specific challenges.

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'Action Project for Innovation' (APInno)

21/11/2014

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‘Action Project for Innovation’ (APInno) is an exciting project aiming at fostering the collaboration between businesses and universities by developing an innovative approach and methodology for teaching Innovation Management. APInno is co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus + Programme 2014-2020 (the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport, Key Action 2 - Cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practices​​) after submitting an application in April 2014 and being successfully approved to work on tackling the future challenges that higher education and business organisations are facing and ways in which innovation management can help mitigate the effects of the rapidly changing world.

​​The project will be executed in 2015-2016 by a balanced partnership which includes two HEIs (Higher Educational Institutions), two SMEs, a Research Centre and an NGO active in HEI-business collaboration and adult training from four different countries - Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and the UK - KISMC, University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, Anfi Ventures, Tecnalia, JODA Training and Middlesex University.

Innovation + Education

On the one hand, innovation - the ability to reap the rewards of scientific achievements - requires much more than the ability to turn a new idea into a working product. It requires the systematic and holistic approach of innovation management. On the other hand, education is on the dynamic path of change and modernisation where it becomes necessary to embrace new innovative cross-functional and cross-disciplinary approaches, to engage business, external stakeholders, the public, researchers and other third parties.

​​As most of us are aware, the Europe 2020 strategy, its Flagship Initiatives and the Modernisation Agenda of European universities put knowledge at the heart of the Union’s efforts for achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is crucial to include practical experience in courses which will help attune curricula to current and emerging labour market needs and foster employability and entrepreneurship (Agenda for the modernisation of Europe's higher education systems, 2011).

APInno Outputs

The main output of the APInno project, which is entirely focused on developing an Innovation Management methodology and an Innovation Management course, specialised training materials and most importantly a guide for business-academia collaboration, is to contribute to the future approaches of engaging all parties such as academia, businesses, researchers. These will help HEIs and SMEs to develop new practices to systematically manage their potential for innovation and identify the best ways for triggering creativity.

Most importantly, looking at the longterm benefits of this project, SMEs will gain higher awareness of the role Innovation Management plays in shaping their future so they can compete in the business environment by using creative approaches and encouraging innovation via engaging with young people eager to work with businesses. Also, academic institutions and researchers will be able to build models and identify upcoming challenges in the above mentioned field as well as provide ready solutions; the Guide for business-academia collaboration will then be easily replicated along with the APInno experiential model.


KISMC and the other partners in the project will be keeping you posted about the ​thrilling activities of APInno in the KISMC social media channels as well as on the project website: www.apinno.eu
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Innovation in Action Awards 2014 [APInno]

4/8/2014

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The official ceremony for the final stage of the first Initiative 'APInno - Innovation in Action' of the Innovation Management Academy took place in Radisson Blu Hotel on 16 July 2014. Ognian Zlatev, the head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, opened the ceremony stating how important innovations are to improve the competitiveness of Bulgarian companies and in general the whole of Europe.

For more than a month students from different schools and disciplines were working in the field of innovation. Their training based on practice and experience was part of Bulgaria's first business practice in innovation management "APInno - Innovation in Action". The main purpose of APInno was to upgrade the skills of young people to generate innovative business ideas, encourage creative thinking and to introduce modern techniques to resolve companies' problems. Some of the work phases included generating ideas, analysis and evaluation, development of concepts and business models, etc.

The mentors participating in the project have experience in the field of innovation management, business development and strategic management in Bulgaria and abroad (HIRON Management Consulting, MT&M College, Az Upravlyavam). The APInno approach was based on learning through experience and the students’ interest in learning and practising innovative management had been tested. Also, this project checked the benefits that companies could have when collaborating with universities.

At the closing ceremony Ruslan Papazyan, director of Trelleborg Bulgaria, awarded the students:

1. The Medical Applications team won the prestigious ‘First place’

2. The Electronics team won the prize for ‘Creativity and Presentation’

3. The Sanitary products team won the prize for ‘Comprehensive industry analysis’

All participants in APInno - Innovation in Action received a certificate from the Innovation Management Academy. The certificates were handed by Vesselin Iliev, DG International Economic Relations in the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

After the ceremony all participants enjoyed the delicious taste of Portuguese wine, delivered by Transimport.
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The Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club is a non-profit organisation set up in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2012 to foster knowledge and innovation management across South East Europe. KISMC is supporting the development of the innovation ecosystem in the region by bridging the gap between education, research and business.

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