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A4B – Academy for Business project partners are motivated to co-design a cross-border blended digital course for academy and business to boost the entrepreneurial and scientific mind-sets for future entrepreneurs and knowledge workers in EdTech.

The Academy for Business project number KA220-HED-5E968301 is run by Tallin University as the project’s coordinator and partner universities: the University of Bielsko-Biala, Technical University of Ostrava and The Mataró TecnoCampus. All activities are supported by partner, local institutions: Regional Development Agency from Bielsko-Biala, Digiskills s.r.o.; the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Moravian-Silesian Region Lurtis Rules and the Mataró municipal authorities.

The main project aim is raising professional and inter-personal students skill and supporting entrepreneurship mindset. Within the Academy for Business project three on-site learning cycles were organised.

From 26^th to 28^th of June, the University of Bielsko-Biala was hosting the students, lecturers and business experts from three partner countries: Czechia, Estonia and Spain. They took part in the first edition of the summer school “EdTech challenges in education and the ideation process”, organised within the framework of the Academy for Business project, financed from the Erasmus+ programme. The project coordinator is the Tallinn University and the main purpose of the project is development of the modern EdTech solutions for business. Within the framework of the project, a cycle of webinars and an online course concerning the new technologies, artificial intelligence and innovation have been organised before.

During the first summer school, organised by the University of Bielsko-Biala in co-operation with its local partners, the three-person teams of students were working on a solution of the problems proposed by the business partners. The team work was fostered by the mentors – the project member from the partner institutions. That co-operation produced an inspiring environment for exchange of knowledge and experience.

Our guests had also a chance to visit the academic campus of the University of Bielsko-Biala and get acquainted with its educational and scientific potential. Additionally, they visited the laboratories of the Regional Development Agency of Bielsko-Biała and learnt about its activities, as well as about that of the Youth Council of the city of Bielsko-Biała, which brought an additional value to their experience.

The partners of the Academy for Business are: University of Bielsko-Biala, the City Hall of Bielsko-Biała, Regional Development Agency, Technical University of Ostrava, Digiskills s.r.o., the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Moravian-Silesian Region, Tecno-Campus Mataró-Maresme, Lurtis Rules and the Mataró municipal authorities.

The second one took place at Tecno-Campus Mataró-Maresme from 29^th till 31^st of January 2024. During these three days, students had the opportunity to participate in a Team Building game, the main goal of which was to highlight the key aspects of selecting team members, while also allowing students to get to know each other better. Additionally, during presentations by industry and university experts, students were introduced to the canvas method for creating business models, applications that facilitate conceptual and creative work during business project development, practical aspects of implementing business ideas, and case studies such as the use of artificial intelligence for teaching conducting in music schools. Moreover, students received practical tips on creating presentations for business purposes, particularly in situations involving investor or business partner acquisition. These topics served as a reference point for the business plans developed by student groups in the EdTech sector, which concluded with presentations and evaluations by industry specialists.​

All on-site cycles were preceded by mentoring sessions, during which students in international groups developed projects whose final results were to be EdTech innovations. The sessions were supported by practitioners-experts in the field of modern technologies and artificial intelligence. The knowledge gained was used during summer and winter schools.

Our mentoring sessions followed a set schedule, making it easy for everyone to plan their attendance. The atmosphere was pretyty good, with most participants having their cameras on, which helped us connect and get to know each other better. The main goal of the meetings was to understand the core issues at each stage of the project. Industry experts co-led the sessions, sharing both practical knowledge and theoretical tips. What was especially important – all feedback was focused directly on the specific problems we were working on together. It was truly a valuable experience for Participants.

For those who were unable to participate in mentoring sessions and international workshops, a package of video lessons and webinars on supporting entrepreneurship, implementing artificial intelligence and modern technologies was developed as part of the project.