From 05 – 09 September, 29 Bachelor’s and Master’s students from EPICUR universities spent five days of project-based training and entrepreneurship education in Greece. They collected 6 ECTS by jointly developing innovative solutions to highly relevant current problems.
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki hosted the EPICUR Entrepreneurship Summer School. Alongside AUTh, KIT and BOKU make available the latest know-how in entrepreneurship to the students and use cutting-edge technologies and university patents to address social and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Coming from not only five different European countries, but also studying for degrees as different as political science, medicine or engineering, the EPICUR Summer School provides the perfect opportunity for students to learn an interdisciplinary approach to science, develop ideas collaboratively and engage in intense, outcome-oriented team work.
“The EPICUR Entrepreneurial Summer School demonstrated how intercultural and interdisciplinary collaboration can be fostered. To facilitate the processes of development of competencies to tackle societal challenges and of entrepreneurial personality, the balanced setting between formal and informal learning was one of the key success factors. This approach was complemented by the integration of the global dimension of sustainable development and focussing on specific technology offers as starting points. The testimonials of the participants give the best impression of the outcome and potential impact of such an format.” Michael Ambros, Senior Scientist at the university of Natural resources and life sciences in Vienna.
EPICUR plans to bring back the Summer School for a next edition in 2023! If you’d like to be part of it, check out the EPICUR course catalogue at the end of each semester and apply on soon!
Students’ testimonials
Yacine Cherraoui
It was such a great experience to attend the first edition of the European EPICUR University Alliance Summer School at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) Starting from technological patents from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and University of Karlsruhe, we developed innovative and sustainable business ideas. The most beautiful part of this summer school is to have been with amazing human beings from 15+ nationalities, from 9 different European universities and with different expertise & experiences. We all learn so much from each other in a very nice atmosphere. Tobias, Athina, Lea, Camelia, Soulaimane, Vasso, Liamine, Pierre, Tamara, Nichita, Elisabeth, Sam, Kaspar, Jannis, Vasileios, Denislav I had the pleasure to work with a fantastic interdisciplinary team made of a medical doctor, engineers, law, business & chemistry. Special thanks to you Anna, Martín, Michael, Sophie, Nicklas ! Together, we created from a patent a startup project leveraging AI & lab-on-chip technology for the healthcare industry. Thanks to all the lecturers and organisers who gave us amazing insights and advices during the whole summer school about ideation, sustainable business canvas, ikigai, pitching and more : Alexander Tittel Orestis Terzidis Sarah I. Manthey Nikos Theodosiou Michael AMBROS Nora Korp and Allen Mohammadi🌍 The best way to finish the summer before starting my master at ESCP Business School
Vasso Papangelou
A momentous week which offered by EPICUR University Alliance took place in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)! I participated in Entrepreneur Summer school which was focusing on innovation and #sustainability. During the week we engaged with innovative technology patents launched by KIT Wirtschaftswissenschaften and BOKU Innovation & Entrepreneurship university. We worked on teams and we been exposed to substantial knowledge related to sustainability and #startup business mindset. We also worked on a project and finally each team pitched its business idea. I feel really honored to meet such creative people! People with different educational background and different origins interacted with the most productive and promising way. I am sure that these people can draw a radiant #sustainable future! All the above could not be exist without our inspired mentors and lecturers! Thank you Allen, Nikos Theodosiou, Sarah, Nora Korp, Alexander!!
Kaspar Albrecht
Imagine meeting strangers in a new city and collaborating with them to develop and pitch a viable business model within 5 days – is that even possible?! I couldn’t pass up this challenging opportunity and was fortunately selected as one of 30 highly motivated students from 8 different European universities and diverse study fields who were given a chance to experience entrepreneurial spirit at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by how an intercultural and interdisciplinary environment of people boosts personal creativity and fun at work. Especially as a student of a comparably small study program, it was refreshing to work with people from other disciplines and to introduce them to the immense potential of wood as a renewable resource for a variety of applications. I am convinced that university partnerships like EPICUR University Alliance are one of the most promising ways to facilitate successful projects among students and professionals from different fields of expertise ensuring a collective way to find clever solutions for Europe’s path to reach its #sustainabledevelopmentgoals. This is the first LinkedIn post I have ever written, as I feel the need to thank all the students and the entire team of trainers (Nora Korp, Michael AMBROS, Sarah I. Manthey, Orestis Terzidis, Nikos Theodosiou) for making this event such a success. Each individual’s enthusiasm was truly motivating and I was enjoying every single conversation! Special thanks to Alexander Tittel for the great organization and Allen Mohammadi🌍 for an inspiring discussion about his company PlasticFri® and breakthrough innovations in the paper and packaging industry as well as advice on how best to present scientific research in an audience-oriented manner. This experience has undoubtedly improved my skills in technology implementation, business modeling, decision-making, and presenting. But most importantly, I have made new friends with many inspiring people who all share a passion for technology, sustainability, and Greek food.
