Transnational Project Meeting and International Science Seminar in Rzeszow

In October 2022, the ESSENCE partners met in Rzeszow, Poland, for their 4th transnational project meeting (TPM), organized and hosted by the ESSENCE Project Coordinator, the University of Information Technology and Management (UITM) in Rzeszow.

All partners contributed to the event by sharing their lessons learnt in building the ESSENCE e-learning platform. Partners discussed the challenges they had faced and the positive outcomes they had managed to achieve. Each partner delivered a presentation on their content development method.  

The meeting further focused on the latest changes in the ESSENCE e-learning platform functionality. There was an exchange of ideas on providing further training opportunities so that all partners may best use the platform functionality, especially its ‘back office’. There was a discussion on new ways of developing student-driven methodology to provide trainees with the best learning experience. More ideas were shared on how to secure the project’s sustainability. 

The project’s latest phase involves further dissemination of the project deliverables, including the organization of the multiplier events (MPEs), which each partner hosts to reach out to stakeholders and target groups. 

The Department of Entrepreneurship at UITM together with the Department of Economics and Business Economics, University of Dubrovnik, Croatia, also organized the International Science Seminar on Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, with all partners taking part, sharing their research on good practices of entrepreneurship initiatives for promoting innovation. For example, the ESSENCE team at UITM in Rzeszow delivered a presentation on The Phenomenon of Student Employability and the Spanish Internet Web team discussed Public and Private Policies in Employability: Trends and Dynamics. The Spanish Case. IDP European Consultants, Italy, shared their ideas on a non-conventional approach to employability and graduate entrepreneurship support in Italy, while the team from IHF Institut de Haute Formation aux Politiques Communautaires, Belgium, discussed new paths for young people’s professional development and entrepreneurship. The team from University of Dubrovnik, Croatia, shared their research on innovation failure and investment in training in emerging innovation systems. The team from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia, talked about their hands-on approach to soft skills development for future entrepreneurs and practitioners and the University of Economics – Varna team gave a talk on Bulgaria’s Higher Education: Soft Skills Development, Graduate Employability, Student Entrepreneurship, and Collaboration with the Corporate and Public Sectors. Further discussion ensued as each presentation gave rise to even more questions.

As the project is drawing to an end, all partners expressed their satisfaction with the project deliverables and their collaboration, emphasizing their commitment to pursue more joint research and project opportunities.