 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. 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: 1. Design Thinking for DigiThinkAn approach based on Design Thinking was followed in the “Digithink” Project.
 Source: University of Deusto
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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. |  |
7 fascinating conclusions from the international conference "INNOVATION - Creating the Future"
12/12/2016
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Keynote Speakers
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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 - 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.
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.
APInno Reference Number: - 2014-1-BG01-KA203-001561
During 2013-2015 CSI, in cooperation with the Knowledge, Innovation and Strategies Management Club, betahaus Sofia and Sofia Tech Park had been organising the so called Mercury - Jupiter Meetings to bridge the gap between scientists and business people in Bulgaria and help them understand each other’s culture. At those meetings groups of scientists and business people talked about their cultures and discussed ways to bridge the gap between each other.
For the span of those two years the meetings gathered interest from the Bulgarian community and many attended to get involved in the discussions and look for the best ways to reduce the size of the gap between scientists and businessmen.
The Mercury - Jupiter meetings were also attended by guest speakers who would guide the meeting towards a specific topic. The topics of discussions had been related to the experience of the speakers. Below you could see some of the guest speakers during 2013-2015.
For the span of those two years the meetings gathered interest from the Bulgarian community and many attended to get involved in the discussions and look for the best ways to reduce the size of the gap between scientists and businessmen.
The Mercury - Jupiter meetings were also attended by guest speakers who would guide the meeting towards a specific topic. The topics of discussions had been related to the experience of the speakers. Below you could see some of the guest speakers during 2013-2015.
- Richard Smits - the owner-director of CSI. He was born in the Netherlands and received his education as a chemical engineer (Ph.D.) from the University of Twente. He worked for Haldor Topsøe A/S of Denmark as an R&D project manager for several years before moving to Bulgaria to start CSI. He knows the requirements of industrial research from the inside and has a wide experience in dealing with various cultures.
- Nikolay Tashev - has a B.Sc. in Мanagement from Manchester University and is the owner of Inomrezha, a company that teams up with engineers, scientists and other technically oriented people with good ideas to start a business to bring their innovations to market. He spoke about the companies he started and his experience in cooperating with technically skilled people to create business.
- Elitsa Panaiotova - the Executive Director of Sofia Tech Park - the company that is developing a large-scale project aiming to strengthen the research, innovation and technological growth in Bulgaria - the first Science and Technology Park. She spoke about the future goals of the park and how it would connect people from the business sector with those of the scientific community to make Bulgaria a more innovative country.
- Nikolai Denkov - a professor of physical chemistry in the Faculty of Chemistry & Pharmacy, Sofia University, where he studies foams, emulsions, surfactants and their applications. He was a lead researcher in R&D centers of the companies Rhodia (France) and Unilever (USA), and has led numerous international research projects. He is a co-founder of the civil platform MoveBG. He talked about the cooperation between scientists and business, based on his experience with the companies Unilever, BASF and Saint Gobain.
- Sjoerd Oppewal - has an economic and a human resource and organization development education, and has been personnel manager of the Dutch research organisation for water management for 13 years. He is now a consultant on change management and organization development, based in Bulgaria. He talked about his experiences as personnel manager in a period when the research institute saw its state-financed budget reduced from 70% to 30% in 3 years, and had to adapt its culture from one of applied science to one of market-oriented professional consultancy. The institute is now known as Deltares, an applied research and consultancy organisation with 800 employees and worldwide operations.
- Milena Koleva - an innovation management consultant and secretary of Knowledge, innovation and strategies management club (KISMC) with practical experience in industry and management consulting. She talked about "educating business people and scientists to cooperate on innovation" and briefly presented the initiative of KISMC for Innovation Management Academy - i.e. creating organizational, resource, and staff conditions for dissemination and practical application of innovation management in companies as an instrument for competitiveness. Nowadays everyone is talking about the gap between academia and business, but does it really exist? Can business be more innovative without the cooperation with academia and vice versa? And where is the fine line between the two, given their common goal to produce innovations for a better future for all of us?
- Tsvetoslava Kyoseva - an Innovation and Business Development consultant with more than 11 years practical experience in the telecom industry. Her professional career began in Mtel, where she held various positions gradually as a manager of local and international projects, and later on leading the development of long-term strategies for the implementation of various technologies and innovative products within the company. Currently she is a PhD candidate in the field of technological innovation at the Technical University of Sofia and she is specialising entrepreneurship and innovation in Vienna, Austria. She talked about “The innovation-invention gap between the two worlds of business and academia”.
- Prof. Venko Beshkov - director of the Institute of Chemical Engineering, BAS, and of ICHEM-BAN OOD, on the successful commercialisation of knowledge in chemical engineering.
- Emil Komatichev - a senior expert in the ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ Department, 'Economic Promotion Policies' Directorate of the Ministry of Economy. He has participated in the development of important strategic documents of the Bulgarian Government including the ‘Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization’, assessments of many innovative projects under OP Competitiveness, in the setting up of entrepreneurial centres in technical universities, in the development of schemes to promote cooperation between business and science (e.g. the voucher scheme) and others.
- Teodora Georgieva and Ruslan Stefanov - work for the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund), the premier Bulgarian innovation policy and research institute. They are co-authors of Innovation.bg, an annual assessment of the current performance of the national innovation system and the implementation of the national innovation policy. At the Mercury-Jupiter meeting, they presented information and conclusions from the latest edition of this assessment in order to discuss how people from the science and business sectors can contribute to improvements in Bulgaria's innovation performance.
- Simeon Stoyanov - graduated from Sofia University in chemistry, physics and mathematics, and then obtained his PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Essen. He is now a senior scientist at Unilever R&D in the Netherlands, being deeply involved in Unilever's research co-operations with various universities (including Sofia University). He combines this position with part-time professorships at 3 universities in 3 different countries. He presented on what it is like to work as a scientist in a multinational company, how he combined this with his professorships, and how this could be applied to improve connections between business and science in Bulgaria.
- Zlatina Karova - the Head of Unit, Centre for technology transfer and project work of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". By education, she is a lawyer with specialisation in international law and justice. She has a master's degree in European Public Administration from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", has a number of certificates and completed additional training courses for trainers at prestigious international organizations. Zlatina Karova talked about the experience of the Centre for Technology Transfer in connecting people from science and from business in Bulgaria.
- Eleonora Carnasa - the Head of “European Innovation and Information Center” at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has an extensive experience in supporting the Bulgarian business and is specializing in innovation management capacity assessment and sources of finance. Eleonora speake about crowdfunding – online practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people. Crowdfunding has raised over $5 billion in 2013 and is suitable for business, social and artistic causes. Eleonora holds a MBA degree from Nantes University, France and is trained to organize crowdfunding campaigns.
- Mihaela Savova - the Ambassador of Hello Tomorrow (HT) in Bulgaria – an international organization that connects innovators from all generations and fields – from science and technology to business and investments. HT’s ambitious mission is to provide its global community the platform to build a better tomorrow through tech innovations. Mrs. Savova talked about the World Community, Global Startup Challenge and International Conference, organized by HT, and shared how the organization would connect people from science and people from business in Bulgaria.
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.
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.
After the summer holidays, on 3 October KISMC organised a seminar on the SME Instrument and HORIZON 2020 showcasing the opportunities SMEs have for financing of their innovations after introducing the new EU programme period 2014 - 2020.
The seminar's objective was to look at H2020, introduce case studies of the SME Instrument, practical advises and instructions on the applications forms. The topics were covered by representatives of KISMC, Innovation Management Academy, HIRON Management Consulting, Energy2Go and by the special guest of the event - Xavier Aubry, ZAZ Ventures, who has got an extensive portfolio of helping SMEs secure funding and has offices in Brussels, London and Zurich.
The seminar's objective was to look at H2020, introduce case studies of the SME Instrument, practical advises and instructions on the applications forms. The topics were covered by representatives of KISMC, Innovation Management Academy, HIRON Management Consulting, Energy2Go and by the special guest of the event - Xavier Aubry, ZAZ Ventures, who has got an extensive portfolio of helping SMEs secure funding and has offices in Brussels, London and Zurich.
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