Digital innovation in recent years has created a lot of challenges and opportunities for consumers and businesses alike, especially after the 2020 pandemic. For starters, it has changed how we consume products and services, which pushes the demand for digital goods. At the same time, businesses must keep up with this rapid digitalization by transforming their processes and finding new ways to produce value for their customers. 

In this digital environment, stakeholders like Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), governments, and businesses must collaborate to develop solutions. Putting their entrepreneurial capacity and creativity to good use, they can create digital strategies to address these economic and social needs. The DIN-ECO project, supported by the HEI Initiative programme of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), will work towards creating digital innovation ecosystems to make digital innovation more accessible in Europe.

Achieving this will require the engagement of innovation agents like HEIs and entrepreneurs to create digital innovation hubs. In these hubs, innovation will meet entrepreneurship and educate entrepreneurs on digital innovation’s systemic implications. Even though digital innovation is a concern in all sectors, DIN-ECO is mainly interested in digital innovations and research in health and manufacturing to highlight the value of innovation-driven research in developing ventures that serve social and industry needs.

What Are the DIN-ECO Objectives?

DIN-ECO’s principal objective is to increase the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity of the participating HEIs and enable their integration into European Innovation value chains and digital innovation ecosystems.  

More specifically, it wants to:

• Set up or expand structures within HEIs to enhance students’ digital skills and capacities in innovation and entrepreneurship. 
• Set up or expand processes within HEIs to facilitate the knowledge and innovation transfer from universities to the market and policymaking centres, and vice versa. 
• Foster the collaboration between HEIs and Enterprises for exchanging knowledge and good practices in entrepreneurship and innovation. 
• Create mechanisms for innovation-driven research resulting from collaboration with partners coming from the industry. 
• Introduce, support and enhance entrepreneurial and innovation studies in HEIs through the re-orientation of existing Curricula and new education programs. 
• Support the HEI’s continuous self-assessment of the impact of the implemented DIVAP’s actions. 

Find more information about DIN-ECO on its official website or at EIT HEI.

DIN-ECO Kick-Off Meeting at Corfu

The kick-off meeting of the DIN-ECO project was held on September 26 at the Ionian Academy, Corfu. The meeting was attended by representatives of cooperating institutions from Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Poland, Serbia, as well as Greece. During the meeting, the partners planned the next project activities and explored ways to increase innovation and entrepreneurial capacity of the participating HEIs.

DIN-ECO Innovation Competition has Officially Started

Young changemakers, inventors, and future pioneers revolutionizing Digital Technologies, Digital Health, and Manufacturing, the DIN-ECO project is calling for you!  

The DIN-ECO Innovation Competition is a university student hackathon running in Denmark, Greece, Italy, Poland, Serbia, and Turkey until December 2nd, 2022, to identify and support progressive business solutions in the fields of: 

✓ Digital Technologies 

✓ Digital Health 

✓ Manufacturing 

The student participants are asked to submit their business ideas as individuals or teams, highlighting the challenges they aim to solve, the target groups and the innovation elements. Problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and adaptability are fundamental to making an idea stand out.   

All submissions will be reviewed, and the best 5 innovative ideas of each participating country will be selected as finalists and advanced to the hackathon’s final round. 

Benefits for the winners of the DIN-ECO Innovation Competition:  

✓ Receive high-quality mentoring and consulting services from experienced professionals. 

✓ Participate in exclusive training sessions focusing on specialized topics of entrepreneurship and innovation. 

✓ Enrich their CVs with a new accomplishment and a valuable learning experience. 

✓ Network with experienced entrepreneurs and other students from top European business schools. 

We challenge and inspire young talents! Do not miss out on the opportunity to become part of a pan-European hackathon, harness your entrepreneurial skills, and make an impact. 

Learn more and apply here https://din-eco.eu/din-eco-innovation-competition-call/ until December 2nd, 2022.

Workshop “Entrepreneurship – one of the most important skill for developing your career”

As a part of the project DIN ECO, the workshop on “Entrepreneurship – one of the most important skill for developing your career”, was held at the University of Nis, Serbia on October 10, 2022. The workshop was organized as part of the work package WP3 “Student support offices on entrepreneurship and innovation”. A total of 122 undergraduate students participated in the workshop. Due to the unexpectedly large number of registered students, two workshops were held with approximately 60 participants each. The overall goal of the workshop was to present the students possible career options, and then to emphasize entrepreneurship as one of the most important opportunities. With that aim, the factors influencing career development were presented, with special attention paid to skills. The workshop was prepared and led by Professor Miroslav Trajanović.

Read the first newsletter of the DIN-ECO project here.