1,35 million € EU EIT Higher Education Initiative funding is awarded to a University of Helsinki led international consortium for entrepreneurial and innovation capacity building. The applicants of the two-year funded 4InnoPipe2 project from the University are the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry and the Faculty of Pharmacy.
The 4InnoPipe2 project builds on the success of the 4InnoPipe project (Cohort 2 of the HEI Initiative), aiming to reshape the role of universities as drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. By fostering regenerative innovation ecosystems, the project empowers higher education institutions (HEIs) to address the most pressing societal and environmental challenges of our time. The project focuses on FoodTech, eco-innovation and sustainable medicines – technologies that promote healthy people and a healthy environment.
The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry will in turn focus on the latter stages of entrepreneurship, with resources dedicated to the development and support of start-ups.
"This will be done through providing additional funding, training and networking opportunities to the actors of food system innovation ecosystems that is orchestrated by the Viikki Food Design Factory. The EIT HEI 4InnoPipe2 project significantly complements the versatile innovation program at the University of Helsinki. This consortium supports also our Food and Drug Security Systems (fooDrug)", says Mari Sandell, Vice Dean responsible for innovations within the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry.
Activities within the Faculty of Pharmacy focus on fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst students and researchers, through training and networking events.
"The project will further strengthen our researchers and student’s capacities and innovation entrepreneurship as well as activate the innovation potential within our innovation community," says the Dean Jari Yli-Kauhaluoma from the Faculty of Pharmacy.
The impact of the 4InnoPipe2 within the University of Helsinki is not only limited to the partnering faculties. The project will train, mentor and support innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels of the University, from students, researchers, staff to academic spin-offs.