European Network of Design for Resilient

Entrepreneurship

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute 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.

ONE WAY TO SUCCESSFULLY ORGANIZE &

IMPLEMENT ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS

THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE & FINDINGS

OF THE ENDURE EDUCATION & TRAINING PROGRAM

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About ENDuRE

ENDuRE is a ‘hands-on’ approach to interactive practical education in entrepreneurship. The

program is international and collaborative, adopting a bespoke blended learning approach

designed to engage real game-changers. The ENDuRE Education and Training Program took place

in three different countries: Italy, England and Denmark. The structure of the program was

based on a common platform, topics and materials developed by the consortium before the start

of the project. The program equips start-ups with all the skills, knowledge, tools and confidence

to successfully turn their business ideas into reality.

At the end of the ENDuRE Education and Training Program three lucky start-ups had the

opportunity to apply for the ENDuRE Mobility Program. The program offered the start-uppers

field support through knowledge exchange and full immersion within hosting companies. The

other start-ups who participated in the program had the possibility to start a mentor program

with the ENDuRE mentors.

This report will give you an overall understanding and clear perspective on the implementation

of the ENDuRE Education and Training Program. This report answers questions such as: How did

the consortium create awareness about the program? Who applied and participated? How did the

consortium plan and execute the program? Who got access to the ENDuRE Mobility Program? In

addition, the report will provide evaluations and reflections made throughout the

implementation as well as suggestions for future projects.

The Implementation Report is based on individual reports developed by each country. In these

reports you will find detailed information about each ENDuRE Education and Training Program.

Please write to info@endureproject.eu to request the access to the country reports.

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The consortium

Italy

University of Pisa

Lungarno Pacinotti 43, 56126 Pisa

www.unipi.it

Polo Tecnologico di Navacchio

Via Giuntini 63, 56023 Navacchio

www.polotecnologico.it/

CEDIT Via Giovanni del Pian dei Carpini,34/38- 50127 Firenze www.cedit.org

England

University of Surrey

Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom

www.surrey.ac.uk

Synoptica/Iveridis

6-8 Bonhill Street, London, EC2A 4BX, United Kingdom

www.synoptica.com/iveridis

Denmark

IDEA Entrepreneurship Centre

Universitetsparken 1, 6000 Kolding

www.idea-sdu.dk // www.interact-sdu.dk

Blue Ocean Robotics

Niels Bohrs Alle 185, 5220 Odense SØ

www.blue-ocean-robotics.com/en

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Content

0. Introduction .................................................................................................. 4

1. Dissemination & awareness ................................................................................ 5

2. Participants .................................................................................................. 7

3. Execution ..................................................................................................... 7

4. Mobility ...................................................................................................... 11

5. SWOT matrix - an overall evaluation of the project .................................................. 11

5. Remarks and suggestions .................................................................................. 13

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0. Introduction This report documents the aims, actions and outcomes obtained on the implementation of the

ENDuRE Education and Training Program.

The first section of the report provides a clear understanding of the dissemination activities

performed by the consortium in order to create awareness and reach the widest audience

possible. The consortium used several platforms and methods including exposure on social media

platforms, attending network events and creating personal contacts.

After an overview of the applications received, the following section describes the

implementation activities performed as well as the participants’ evaluation of the workshops. In

total 44 students and 67 start-uppers participated in the ENDuRE Education and Training Program

where as 11 start-uppers applied for the ENDuRE Mobility Program which followed.

The final section of the report provides an overall critical analysis of the entire implementation

through the use of a SWOT matrix. This matrix indicates future steps and possible actions for

exploitation of the results. The consortium found the ENDuRE Education and Training Program to

be very successful and already see new opportunities in transforming the program material into

future activities.

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1. Dissemination & awareness Each member of the consortium launched a dual-purpose communication campaign. One was to

promote the ENDuRE Program worldwide, thus facilitating applications and expressions of

interest from students and start-uppers from all over the world. The other was to raise

awareness about the program and project on the whole. For this reason, the campaign was

developed through a multi-channel strategy to target several stakeholders. The consortium used

several platforms and methods including exposure on social media platforms, attending network

events, giving presentations, creating personal contacts, e-mails, publishing articles, distributing

flyers and invitations and displaying posters.

For example, University of Surrey promoted the ENDuRE program using the poster shown in

‘Figure 1 – University of Surrey poster’. The ENDuRE program was promoted in 6 different online

groups and communities. These groups contained approx. 1.000 people. 30 copies of the poster

was printed, posted on notice boards and handed out around campus.

Figure 1 – University of Surrey poster

A special issue of the ENDuRE official newsletter was dedicated to promote the ENDuRE program

at the University of Pisa. The following ‘Figure 2 - University of Pisa ENDuRE Newsletter’ shows

the newsletter, which was delivered on April 4th and targeted 487 subscribers.

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Front page

Figure 2 - University of Pisa ENDuRE Newsletter

Back page

IDEA made personal contact with more than 100 people at different events. At these events a

dialogue was started about the program and flyers were handed out - as shown below in ‘Figure

3- IDEA Flyer’. IDEA also presented the project and program to SDU’s campuses in Kolding,

Odense, Sønderborg and Cortex Park. At these presentations flyers were handed out and the

campuses made them accessible to students. In total, 1.000 copies of the flyer were printed.

Figure 3 - IDEA Flyer

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At attended events IDEA used marketing materials such as roll-ups and information screens to

get people’s attention and create contact. The information screens were placed at the main

entrance and are shown in ‘Figure 4 – IDEA information screens’.

Figure 4 – IDEA information screens

2. Participants As a result of the dissemination and awareness activities, several projects applied to join the

ENDuRE Education and Training Program. Participants came from a diverse range of sectors,

activities and countries. Whilst many were selected to participate in the three ENDuRE

Education and Training Programs in Italy, England and Denmark, due to overwhelming demand,

all applications were vetted (against the program’s strict criteria) with several many applicants

being turned down.

In total 44 students and 67 start-uppers participated. 35 out of the 111 participants joined other

previous entrepreneurship training courses, and 26 participants have relatives who started a

business. Their scientific background were very diverse, with an abundance of engineers and

social science majors.

At the University of Pisa 33 projects applied to join the ENDuRE Education and Training Program.

The applicants came from very diverse sector of activities, such as ICT, fashion, robotics and

tourism. The projects came from 11 countries all over the World. 22 of the 33 applicants were

selected to participate in the course, but only 19 of them attended the program.

At the University of Surrey 30 teams applied to join the ENDuRE Education and Training Program

– including 78 people from different countries.

At IDEA 35 teams from 14 different countries applied. 14 teams had co-founders, as 12 teams

had employees. 32 of the teams had shareholders working for the start-up and 15 teams had

external collaborators.

3. Execution The structure of the program was based on a common platform, topics and materials developed

by the consortium before the start of the project. Each partner adjusted the program to the

selected participants, speakers and mentors.

At University of Pisa the program was set-up as a Summer School by the name ‘Summer School

on Advanced Innovation Methods’. The Summer School lasted 2 weeks (from May 30th to June

11th) and the activities were divided in 10 workshops. Below you will find an overview of the

program.

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WS Topic Hours Facilitator Guest Speaker

Number of participants

Used Materials

1 Neuroprosthetic for a better life

1 Antonella Magliocchi

Silvestro Micera

19+1 Slides

Brain Control Case Study

1 Pasquale Fedele

Slides

Problem statement and Idea understanding

2 Niccolò Rosini

Gualtiero Fantoni

19+1 Slides, Exercises

Grammars of creation

2 Andrea Bonaccorsi

Slides

2 Pretotyping: Pretotype it!

4 Leonello Trivelli

Leonardo Zangrando

29+7 Slides, Exercises

Pretotype it!: Hands On

4 Gualtiero Fantoni, Daniele Mazzei

Slides, Exercises

3 Pretotyping: Designing connected devices

4 Niccolò Rosini

Daniele Mazzei

20+5 Slides, Exercises

Designing connected devices: Hands On

4 Daniele Mazzei

Software, Hardware

4 Pains and Gains, Value Proposition and Business Modeling

4 Simona Pira Gabriele Montelisciani

24+2 Slides, Exercises

Business Modeling: Hands On

4 Leonello Trivelli

Slides, Exercises

5 Pretotyping: 3D Printing

4 Antonella Magliocchi

Carmelo De Maria

15+1 Slides

6 Social Capital, Scalability and Global Thinking

4 Leonello Trivelli

Ray Garcia 19 Slides, Exercises

Aperitif with guest 2 Flavia Marzano

Slides

7 Implementation strategy and business planning

4 Simona Pira Ray Garcia 15+6 Slides, Exercises

The Dallara Case Study

2 Andrea Pontremoli

Slides, Video

8 Strategic Marketing 4 Niccolò Rosini

Fabio Ancarani

16+1 Slides, Exercises

Implementation strategy and business planning

2 Ray Garcia Slides, Exercises

9 Technology Foresight

4 Antonella Magliocchi

Karlheinz Steinmüller

18+4 Slides, Exercises

Technology Intelligence

4 Riccardo Apreda

Slides, Exercises, Software

10 B2B Sales 2 Leonello Trivelli

Annamaria Arcese

19+4 Slides, Exercises

Branding and Product Communication

6 Natasha Chobanu

Slides, Exercises

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11 Final pitch 4 Simona Pira 22+29 Slides, Video

Table 1 – Workshop overview University of Pisa

At the University of Surrey, the program was planned as a 1 week intensive course consisting of 5

seminars and 5 workshops – running from July 4th to July 8th 2016. Surrey’s course blended theory

and practice using ‘gamification’ throughout the week to illustrate the concepts presented in a

hands-on practical way. This was done through a number of activities such as, a Block-chain

game which focused on the transactional nature of data and its inherent value, using Lego blocks

as currency. IBM’s brainstorming sessions centered on understanding the customer decision

journey. IBM split participants into diverse groups to facilitate idea generation. Each group

contained a minimum of one academic, CEO, MBA student, and intrapreneur. Two rooms were

set up for the purpose of a conducive environment for creative thinking as this got people out of

their seats and networking at natural intervals. Several 6 foot whiteboards were set up around

the rooms to facilitate group work and record ideas throughout the week. The following table

provides an overview of the program.

WS Topic Hours Facilitator Guest speaker

Number of participants

Used material

1 Introduction to Entrepreneur-ship & Digital Platforms

7 Prof. Alan Brown, Dr. David Plans

Prof. Annabelle Gawer

33 PowerPoint presentation, Business Model Generation, video

2 Digital Economy & Value

7 Prof. Roger Maull

- 26 PowerPoint presentation, Facebook case study, Block-chain game, video

3 Design Studio 7 IBM UK Emerging Technologies Team

IBM UK Emerging Technologies Team

21 PowerPoint presentation, Business Model Canvas

4 Digital Innovation 7 Prof. Alan Brown

- 34 PowerPoint presentation, video

5 Innovation & Entrepreneur-ship

7 Dr. Rhoda Davidson

Business Angels (Surrey 100 Club)

30 PowerPoint presentation, Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, pitching forum

Table 2 – Workshop overview University of Surry

At IDEA the program was planned as a 6 weeks course consisting of 7 workshop days – running

from April 29th to June 10th 2016. Below you will find an overview of the program.

WS Topic Hours Facilitator Guest speaker

Number of participants

Used material

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1 & 2 Who are you, your team and idea?

12 Lone F. Toftild from IDEA, Martin Senderovitz from SDU Slagelse

Casper Harlev from Sensohive

39 Powerpoint presentation, The model ‘Entrepreneurship support ecosystem, DISC, videos

3 Business structure, strategy and action plan

6 Ken H. Thomsen from IDEA

- 19 Powerpoint presentation, the tool ‘Relationskortet’, paper and pencil for exercise

4 Intellectual property

4 Søren Jensen from SDU Odense

- 19 Powerpoint presentation, material from ‘the European Patent Office (EPO)’, material from ‘California Management Review’, databases

5 Business model and business growth

8 Ken H. Thomsen from IDEA

Thomas Kromann from Blue Ocean Robotics

19 Powerpoint presentation, the model ‘Business model generation’, video

6 Go to market 4 Ivan Tyrsted and Tina Kjær Holler from IDEA

Thomas Midtgaard Jørgensen from Blue Ocean Robotics

19 Powerpoint presentation, the book ‘Get a handle on your sales’, value proposition map, the design method ‘Personas’

7 Economics. Funding and investment perspective

4 Lone F. Toftild, Ivan Tyrsted and Tina Kjær Holler from IDEA

Rasmus Uhre and Erik Zijdemans from SDU Cortex lab, Gustaf Luel-Brockdorff from Syddansk innovation

26 Powerpoint presentation, Examples on budgets, videos

Table 3 – Workshop overview IDEA

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During the programs an evaluation of each seminar was performed by each partner of the

consortium in order to understand if the seminar met the expectations of participants. An

evaluation form was handed out to each participant for completion at every workshop. The

evaluation of each workshop helped the consortium improve the next workshop day and provide

insight in the participants’ expectations.

Overall, the consortium received a great response from the participants, and the chance for

entrepreneurs to share the experience with other like-minded people stimulated their work and

progress.

At IDEA the results were analyzed after every workshop in order to point out possible

improvements. By focusing on these improvements, IDEA managed to raise the number of

participants who got the desired outcome from 63% at the first and second workshop to 100% at

the last workshop.

At University of Surrey 93% of the participants got the desired outcome from the workshop days,

and 92% found the physical environment motivating.

At University of Pisa 91% thought the level of lecture was appropriate and 78% draw benefit from

collaborating with other participants.

4. Mobility After the workshops, the participants had the opportunity to apply for a mobility program. The

program offered the start-uppers field support through knowledge exchange and full immersion

within hosting companies. Hosting companies were established companies with a proven track

record in the particular market sector of the start-up. Start-ups had the possibility of spending a

period of time within these companies, the idea being to generate a win-win environment where

both hosting and mobility participants benefited.

The applications received in each country were:

Italy: 5 applications (out of 19 start-ups eligible team – 25%).

United Kingdom: 4 applications (out of 10 eligible startup teams – 40%)

Denmark: 2 applications (out of 12 start-up eligible teams – 15%)

The selection of participants was made by the consortium using shared and objective criteria,

respecting the principles of fairness, transparency and coherency indicated in the guidelines.

Three start-ups were selected:

Recyclebot from Italy Host company: Blue Ocean Robotics in Denmark

Golfers’ Match from England Host company Polo Tecnologico Navacchio in Italy

Epida from Denmark Host company: Synoptica/Iveridis in England

In the mobility report detailed information can be found about the ENDuRE Mobility Program.

5. SWOT matrix - an overall evaluation of the project The following table is based on the consortiums evaluation of the program as well as things

learned throughout the program and thoughts about future use of the program material.

Strengths Weaknesses The chance for entrepreneurs to engage with other

likeminded people

The time between the workshop days makes it hard

to preserve the intensity and social capital (DK)

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Stimulation of the entrepreneurs work and progress

Rethinking of the teams business idea (re-evaluate

ideas in terms of digital thinking)

Awareness of ‘must have topics’ to master

entrepreneurship challenges

The opportunity for entrepreneurs to pressure test

their idea

The program can be organized in a very intense

way, so the participants could fully focus on

acquiring new skills

The program helped participants to prototype and

test their business idea getting out of the building

The integration between theory and hands-on

sessions allowed participants to practice and digest

the concepts treated during the course

Guest speakers gave high level talks on specific

topics and valuable experiences

Having a very intensive program hinder the

possibility to spend time working on the

development of the idea (I & UK)

Some topics attracted the interest of just a part of

the audience

The participants were at very different stages in the

entrepreneur process which made it hard to align

their needs to the workshops structure

Few investors and mentors participated in the final

pitch

Too much information in short amount of time

It can be difficult to find the right balance between

theory & practice

Need more time for coaching activities

Opportunities Threats

A four or five day consistent course with

accommodation in a hotel or a hostel would

increase the intensity and social capital

Many new ideas for future events and deeper

knowledge about entrepreneurs’ needs as well as

qualities and challenges

Transforming the program into an elective course at

several education lines

Recreating the program into a summer school or

camp where the social capital really can be built

Implementing the program as a certified program

or further education opportunity with payment

from the participants

Incentives: Endorsement, private sponsorship,

university credits (ECTS)

Targeting more specific domains such as hard

science projects only with involvement of local

expertise

Addressing the program towards other sectors such

as social entrepreneurship and humanities

Public funds for supporting entrepreneurship

education programs

Collaborating with local institutions (chamber of

commerce, business associations, etc.) to reach

SMEs to foster both intrapreneurship and

entrepreneurship

Follow-on networking events

One-to-one meetings with mentor or coach

The participants were at very different stages in the

entrepreneurial process which makes it hard to

connect and use each other

The flexible structure of the project continuously

affects the format, which places high demands on

the partners' willingness to reframe and adapt

It is very important to find guest speakers who are

only a few steps in front of the participants. The

participants can not relate to a guest speaker who

is too far in the process

Timing is very important: exam periods increases

the chance of cancellations and no-shows

Weak national level strategy towards

entrepreneurship support

Growing number of entrepreneurship programs

(both traditional and on-line courses), so it is harder

to clearly position ENDuRE among them

Limited collaboration with other universities at local

level

Growing offer of entrepreneurship education

materials such as books, podcasts, videos, etc.

Too many students makes individual dialogue

difficult

Academic vs. industry experts

Table 4 – SWOT matrix

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5. Remarks and suggestions The ENDuRE Education and Training Programs were very flexible which allowed the consortium

to adapt to the participants needs along the way. Fundamentals iterated as the project

developed, which created a need to rethink or sharpen original structures during the process.

The flexible structure placed high demands on the partners' willingness to reframe and adapt.

The consortium learned a lot throughout the program, and as a result possess several remarks

and suggestions to implement on future projects. Many new ideas for future projects and

activities are due to having gained a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial needs, qualities

and challenges.

5.1 Remarks A structure such as the one created at University of Pisa with morning and afternoon workshops

was difficult for start-ups to attend during business hours. In hindsight, the timing of workshops

was unrealistic given how close they were to the exam period, resulting in a number of

cancellations and no-shows.

It is advantageous to have few and continuous teachers assigned to the program. At IDEA the

teachers changed through the program, making it harder to establish closer contact between

teachers and participants. Furthermore, a four or five day’s consistent course with

accommodation in a hotel or a hostel would have increased the intensity and probably made the

participants more focused and raised the social capital.

The dissemination process was compressed and detailed - several methods and channels were

used to reach the target audience. Some channels were more efficient than others, and the

University of Pisa measured this effect in their individual implementation report, which can be

used in planning future dissemination processes in Italy. During the sessions, teams did not have

enough time to immerse themselves in the different concepts and apply them to their business

ideas.

It was a constant success to invite in outside guest speakers. Participants found it incredibly

valuable as a way to help them reflect on their methods. Although, it is very important to find

guest speakers that are only a few steps in front of the participants – otherwise, the participants

can find it hard to connect and follow the speaker’s point of view.

Some participants found it hard to adapt to the use of new and unknown platforms, like the F6S

online platform used in the addition to collect applications. Because of this confusion, the

participants created their own LinkedIn group and also connected via e-mail. Additionally,

partners found it problematic to synchronize F6S with other platforms. Based on this the

University of Surrey used Google forms as an alternative.

5.2 Suggestions The ENDuRE Education and Training Program represent an important element of the

entrepreneurship support actions and it will be part of the consortiums ecosystem in the future.

It is very important to invest time in the early phases of the program and find the right balance

which fits the needs of the partners, start-ups as well as the companies. The program is very

flexible and can easily be adjusted and reframed so it fits different stakeholders.

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The University of Pisa arranged the opening session in the Leonardo da Vinci Museum and it was

extremely inspiring for all the participants. Moreover, focusing on pretotyping during the first

week of the course helped the start-uppers to iteratively test their business idea for the whole

duration of the course.

The program in Surrey was characterized by a gamification activity and IDEA had a distinctly

hands-on approach with various exercises and physical methods.

In order to strengthen the educational offer, it is possible to adapt the program to specific

targets such as startups, intrapreneurs, MBA students or mature companies. In particular, it

would make sense to create different courses devoted to each target in order to address each of

them with a dedicated structure and content. The ENDuRE Education and Training Program could

also be customized to other sectors such as social entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, or

humanities.

The consortium sees an opportunity in transforming the program into an elective course at

several education lines at the universities. As an example, it could work as an internship in the

participants’ own company or implemented in courses such as sport and technical.

The course can also be recreated as a summer school or camp where the social capital really can

be built. Furthermore, it could work as a certified program or further education opportunity

with payment from the participants.