Umeå University joins major European initiative to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship

EC2U ELEVATE (Entrepreneurship Learning, Education & Value-Creation Across Technologies and Ecosystems) brings together universities, cities, businesses and regional stakeholders across Europe to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer. Coordinated by the University of Coimbra, the project is part of the EC2U alliance and includes partners from Portugal, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Austria, Romania, and Sweden.

The project's long-term ambition is to strengthen the EC2U Alliance as a European innovation ecosystem where education, research and collaboration with society contribute to entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development. It will also deepen collaboration with the EIT ecosystem in the fields of health, urban mobility, and culture and creativity. 

Key contributions from Umeå University

Researchers from all faculties at Umeå University will contribute to the project. The university will lead the development of a new online course in innovation and entrepreneurship, designed to strengthen entrepreneurial mindsets and innovation competences among students across the EC2U Alliance.

Umeå University will also lead the creation of a European database of regional and societal innovation challenges, connecting students, researchers, businesses and public organisations with real-world challenges. The initiative builds on Umeå University's long tradition of collaboration between academia, industry and the public sector, which has contributed to innovations in areas such as sustainable technologies, regional development and the green transition.

"It is very gratifying that we have secured funding for our first research project within the EC2U consortium. Since our partner universities are all comprehensive institutions similar to Umeå University, the prospects are very good for identifying and submitting additional successful applications under the same programme," says Thomas Olofsson, Deputy Vice-Rector for Research at Umeå University.

Another key contribution is expertise in social and inclusive innovation. Through new methods and forms of collaboration, the project will support work on societal challenges related to health, well-being, climate change, digitalisation and demographic development. The aim is to strengthen co-creation, innovation and impact-oriented research across the alliance.