AAU Energy Boosts Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation

By Ellen Holm Tambjerg, AAU Energy

Digital innovation has radically changed industries, and innovation and entrepreneurship are key aspects in facing the various challenges that characterize today’s society. From AAU Energy, Simon Pedersen and Mads Valentin Bram work together with universities from all of Europe to improve innovation culture at universities and to link and transfer research from within the universities to the market and the industry through Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs).

The project receives funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, which aims to boost the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Europe.

Higher Education Institutions play a major role in innovation and entrepreneurship, and the project aims to increase this further. Strong cooperation between the key players is necessary, and the institutions should educate entrepreneurs who can navigate the new challenges and thus connect research and digital innovation.

At AAU, we already work actively with innovation through Problem Based Learning and a large focus on connecting students and research to the industry and general society. The project project enables even more initiatives in creating an entrepreneurial culture at the universities, for instance through different events for students and researchers.

The project is already resulting in interesting competitions and events across Europe, and we are very proud that three Applied Industrial Electronics students from AAU in Esbjerg won the Innovative Competition on December 16th.

The project is currently in phase 1 out of 3. This phase focuses on expanding structures within Higher Educational Institutions to improve the digital skills and abilities regarding innovation and entrepreneurship of the students as well as expanding processes to facilitate the knowledge and innovation transfer from universities to the market and policy making centers.

The other partners in the project include University of Parma, Ionian University, Warsaw University for Life Sciences, University of Niš, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Found.ation, Fondazione Fenice Onlus and A.B. Institute of Entrepreneurship Development Ltd. Visit the official website for the DIN-ECO project for more information.