HIVE project successfully completes Phase 1 and proceeds to Phase 2

Throughout Phase 1, partners shared their experiences of participation in different networks, identified best practices for innovation and entrepreneurial education, and worked on improving existing curricula and implementing training programme. Based on the performed analysis it was concluded that most of the HIVE consortium partners have relevant HEI-level legal framework in place, enabling them to incentivize and facilitate research commercialization. This is of critical importance for each HEI to develop internal regulations, procedures, establish relevant programmes and execute activities that would facilitate and foster technology transfer.

The most significant achievement of Phase 1 with a long-term impact on the implementation of the HIVE project and, thus, the increase of HEIs innovation capacity is the development of a complex inventory of status-quo and identification of the best practices performed for the implementation of WP1 and WP3 activities that are also thematically connected with WP2 and WP4 inventories. The complex approach has become a basis for coordinating all activities carried out within the project toward its common goal.

In Phase 1, the University of Coimbra (UC) shared with all the partners an initial structure of the programme, assuming the responsibility of developing three modules with the support of the University of Latvia (UL) and other interested partners. UC asked partners to provide an input for additional modules development in order to include them in the training programme structure. Partners had used an opportunity to thoroughly analyse their institutions, regarding training and mentoring in innovation and entrepreneurial education. It is expected that UC, UL and other interested partners will develop three general modules, therefore creating a common structure, contents, goals, exercises and wrap-up videos for each module. All learning materials will be available to the whole consortium.

During Phase 1 the training programme pilot with improved curricula was delivered resulting in 358 trained students (145 initially planned). Students, academics, and non-academics were engaged in exploiting innovative and participative learning methods. Students obtained new knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship through newly created and improved education programmes and on-site experience. In Phase 2, the innovation and entrepreneurial curricula will be developed for the training programme, teaching materials and mentoring scheme for students, academic and non-academic staff.

It is important to HIVE partners to support gender inclusion in project activities by ensuring the same opportunities are provided for women as for men. In total 358 students were trained during Phase 1, of which 251 were women; 19 academic staff members were trained, of which 9 were women; 29 non-academic staff members were trained, of which 19 were women; 103 students were mentored, of which 63 were women; 16 academic staff members were mentored, of which 7 were women; 20 non-academic staff members got mentored, of which 15 were women.

During Phase 1 different activities by HIVE partners were implemented. For example, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) has organized the Validation Camp to promote students' entrepreneurship potential. This activity aimed to validate their ideas, test them in the market and try to design the first prototype. The ESSEC Business School, with the support of the HIVE project, has developed a specific support program for social innovation - Start Up. A specific programme to support social innovation within the health and care sector was put together in cooperation with the ESSEC partner Malakoff Humanis (French social welfare group), which will help corporates in the health insurance sector and start-ups in the care and social sector to collaborate and improve their mutual impact.

New mechanism to trigger business idea generation - IdeathonTEDU, was created for TED University (TEDU) students. It's a competition of early-stage business ideas in the journey to the market. The TEDU is also implementing the Social Good Oriented Internship Program, which brings together TED University students with social enterprises that need qualified human resources. In November 2022, the UC has launched the Portal UC Lab. It allows anyone, inside or outside the UC to get a consultation on products and services offered by UC structures.

The UL has created a testbed in the form of an algorithm to evaluate bioactive compounds in patients with cardiovascular disease including: objectives, design of the evaluation, the inclusion/exclusion criteria of patients, evaluation discontinuation criteria, evaluation plan, treatment, examination and control criteria, efficiency criteria, documentation, safety and ethics, quality control, etc. Research and preparations for the start of the UL Technology transfer office (TTO) were also conducted.

Within HEI Capacity Building Initiative Riga Stradins University (RSU) reviewed the existing TTO functions and capacity, as well as performed an internal function audit. As a result, it was decided to redistribute functions between the Research Department and the TTO, transferring the evaluation of the commercial potential of the research results created by RSU and the registration of Industrial Property under the responsibility of the TTO, and to transfer the administration of contract research to the Research Department, thereby allowing the TTO to intensify and develop new contacts with the industry in order to promote the commercialisation of RSU inventions and scientific services.

Activities performed in Phase 1 will be further continued in Phase 2. Phase 2 to will be 18 months long and will conclude in June 2024.