The University of the Azores and SDEA (Azores Business Development Society, EPER), developed and provide mentoring guidance to a project, named the Entrepreneurship Triple Helix. There, students with training in entrepreneurship interconnect with research fellows to create multidisciplinary teams and synergies, with the goal of developing a business idea based on their lines of research.
It is developed in three phases, starting with the Triple Helix Forum, which discusses topics on entrepreneurship, research, good practices and success stories, involving government entities, the University of the Azores, and companies.
The second phase stems from the development of business ideas and the realization of workshops. The project culminates with the presentation of the business ideas in a pitch format before a jury that selects the three best ideas. All of the students in charge of the business ideas receive information on the in-place measures and incentives that support business creation.
The ultimate aim of this project is to create academic spinoffs and start-ups that promote the importance of research with
the leverage of competitive advantages for companies, as well as in creating value through innovation.
Source: SDEA, sdea.pt
Example of strategy 3A:
Support Students’ Innovation Projects
Municipalities or regional island authorities can support initiatives, whichbring students and their projects (thesis, graduation, PhD fieldwork,internship, special course/curriculum, etc.) to the island, to explore the islands’ problems and opportunities from a fresh perspective. Although some of the resulting ideas and proposals might be too idealistic for direct implementation, they can help to set the agenda for innovation on the island and lead to structural cooperation with mainland higher education in different disciplinary backgrounds.
Islands should profit from their uniqueposition, being perceived by students and staff as places “par excellence” to discuss and test out new ideas in isolation and on a small scale.
Local governments are in the position to strengthen the initiatives ofisland individual firms, NGOs, and sectorial organizations (agriculture, fisheries, services, tourism, recreation, transport, etc.) that are lookingfor student input from the mainland. Particularly from a municipality, a relevant own initiative in hiring students for interesting projects would be expected to set the leading example and create a “lighthouse” position.