The second ENHANCE Summer School on Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation will happen in August!
Chalmers University of Technology hosts the second edition of the ENHANCE Summer School on Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with digital sessions, independent work, and an in-presence intensive week taking place from 21 to 25 August 2023. Completing the course will be rewarded with a certificate worth 6 to 7.5 ECTS depending on the credit system of each university. All the Master and PhD students of the ENHANCE partner institutions are invited to apply through their universities and enjoy this international experience focusing on an important societal topic.
Learn about sustainability in a group dynamic environment
This second edition is organised around individual and teamwork, with students carrying out academic research either alone or together before and after the in-presence week, and the main goal is to increase the students’ awareness and ability to consider, reflect, and act upon entrepreneurship and innovation without ever forgetting the importance of sustainability. To reach these competences, the summer school will provide contents on the knowledge and decision-making logics that are needed to take innovative ideas and transform them not only in entrepreneurial initiatives but in viable and sustainable initiatives.
With these objectives in mind, the course will be organised around the idea of sustainability and innovation from a technical perspective, considering research, broad impact, and various perspectives. In the modern world where sustainability is now necessary, the stress will be put on tackling the challenges related to this concept and the development of ideas, strategies, tools, and methods useful to facilitate the process of sustainable innovation. The content of the summer school will revolve around interviews with sustainable entrepreneurs around Europe, peer-to-peer exchange, and classroom exercises and discussions.
Specific learning outcomes to improve the skills of the participants
Chalmers University of Technology proposes a clear list of learning outcomes that the students will reach step-by-step during this course. Among them are the global goals mentioned above, some more precise skills are expected to develop during this summer school like the ability to determine prioritised actions toward tackling sustainability concerns not only in the development of innovation but also in the following stages and the entrepreneurial steps, in regard to the specificity on a context. The students will also learn to demonstrate awareness of greenwashing and determine how to differentiate between viable and non-viable sustainable actions. Three periods will be necessary to reach these goals: a preparation phase from 15 June to 18 August during which two online sessions will take place; a phase of in-person sessions from 21 to 15 August with, among others, a field trip and social activities; and the phase of the final assignment from 28 August to 29 September, which can take various format. During the course, different assessments will take many forms too, like oral presentations, written reports, peer-to-peer feedback, and self-reflection assignments.
For more details, you can consult the dedicated webpage on the ENHANCE website. The participants are expected to have a CEFR B2 proficiency level even if no certificate is required. To apply, they need to write a motivational letter of 300 to 500 words (the topics that must be addressed in this letter are detailed here) a submit it to the designated staff at their university. Students can be reimbursed €350 for their travel and accommodation and €58 per diem by their university to help them make the most of their in-presence international experience, added to the competences they will acquire through the course. This second edition hopes to attract and have an impact on even more ENHANCE students than the first edition, to keep going on this theme.
