28 January 2021 | Online
Jun. Prof. Dr. Sue Rossano-Rivero and PhD Candidate Iulia Stroila, attended to the Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances Projects kick-off meeting held on the 28th of January 2021.
The main aims of the kick-off meeting were to get to know the EACEA team (Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency) and establish a fruitful cooperation between project representatives and the European Commission. Furthermore, participants had the opportunity to present their projects, network with other project representatives, and receive detailed information on project management, monitoring, and dissemination of Knowledge Alliance Projects.
Jun. Prof. Dr. Sue Rossano-Rivero and PhD Candidate Iulia Stroila presented as coordinator and lead researcher of the project WeRIn - Women Entrepreneurs in Regional Inclusive Ecosystems (WeRIn). The project runs for 36 months (2021-2023) and aims at enhancing inclusivity of entrepreneurship education and support programmes with the intent to increase the share of female graduate entrepreneurs and enhance their level of embeddedness in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems across Europe.
Despite a rise in participation of female students in entrepreneurship education (EE) at Higher Education Institutes (HEI's), they still lag behind compared to their male counterparts. Additionally, even when they have participated in EE, they are less likely to move towards actual entrepreneurial careers after they graduate. When they do, these graduate female entrepreneurs are less well embedded in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. Many simply do not feel sufficiently invited to "Entrepreneurship". Being (gender) inclusive is making women to feel invited to the entrepreneurship scene, while being (structurally) inclusive means to transcend the boundaries of HE into the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, and to ensure that female entrepreneurs can become truly embedded in these ecosystems.
The project brings together 14 partners across Europe: Münster University of Applied Sciences (Lead Partner),Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (Germany), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), University Industry Innovation Network (The Netherlands), University of Zagreb (Croatia), Cork Institute of Technology (Ireland), Istanbul Technical University (Turkey), Momentum Consulting (Ireland), European Center for Women and Technology (Norway), Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Steinfurt mbH (Germany, Impact Hub Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Technology park Varazdin (Croatia), ARI Teknokent Proje Gelistirme Planlama (Turkey) and Rubicon Centre (Ireland).