Hosted by the University of Innsbruck, the conference emphasized entrepreneurship with innovative ideas and an inspiring atmosphere. "From Vienna, Graz, Linz to Innsbruck. We are very pleased that the ECN Conference has become such an integral part of Austrian universities”, opened Monique Schlömmer, MSc. (ECN Project Lead, Vienna University of Economics and Business), addressing the fourth edition of the conference with around 60 participants.
Experience Innsbruck's startup spirit
The first day in Innsbruck began - as one might have expected - at the Nordkettenbahn mountain station “Seegrube” at an altitude of above 1,900 meters. In the vibrant environment of the Tyrolean startup ecosystem, our hosts Priv. Doz. Dr. Sara Matt & Robert Schimpf, MSc. (University of Innsbruck) invited us to exciting pitches and subsequent panel discussions featuring some prominent figures of the Tyrolean start-up scene. Among the many creative minds and start-ups on-site, several key players, including Startup.Tirol, Impact Hub Tirol, Skinnovation and parityQC, offered insights into their work. In the evening, the Storming Pizza Pitching Competition at MCI-Innsbruck provided an innovative atmosphere and gathered participants and local founders together over pizza and drinks, which led to lively discussions and a valuable exchange.
Day two: International best practices and hands-on workshops
The second day of the conference, this time at the actual campus of the University of Innsbruck, focused on practical topics such as spin-offs, entrepreneurship education, student engagement and international best practices. In their welcoming addresses, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gregor Weihs (Vice-Rector for Research, University of Innsbruck) and Dr. Rudolf Dömötör (Director of the WU Entrepreneurship Center, Vienna University of Economics and Business) emphasized the importance of exchange and collaboration among universities to strengthen entrepreneurship in higher education. "We are delighted that with the ECN we have created such a valuable platform for exchange among like-minded unipreneurship enthusiasts at Austrian universities," said Dr. Rudolf Dömötör.
Best practice talks from the University of Exeter (Emily Davies) and the University of Cambridge (Caroline Hyde) broadened horizons and gave all participants food for thought on future approaches. The subsequent sessions focused on imparting practical knowledge. Two parallel workshops allowed participants to delve into topics such as the "Spin-off Checklist" and "Entrepreneurship Education - AI as a New Teaching Method for Entrepreneurship Education".
During last year's ECN conference, valuable input from the universities was compiled for the spin-off guide already published by New Venture Scouting (on behalf of the BMBWF). Sonja Polan (aws: NCP-IP) and her team have now set themselves the goal of developing the valuable basis of the spin-off guide into a hands-on checklist for spin-off-relevant stakeholders. The input from universities, particularly the Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs), is critical here. In order to develop a practical checklist, the current needs and best practices for spin-offs were discussed in the workshop and the requirements for the content of the checklist were determined.
Another highlight of this year’s conference was the workshop on using AI in an entrepreneurial context. Julian Just, PhD (University of Innsbruck), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christian Friedl (FH Joanneum) shared their insights into this new phenomenon, drawing some interesting conclusions. Participants had the opportunity to test various generative AI tools and evaluate their application possibilities for business development. It became clear that AI can effectively help structure ideas and develop initial approaches.
Finally, ECN colleague Mag. Andreas Rissaweg (FH Salzburg) reported on the extensive entrepreneurship spin-off initiative of Salzburg’s universities and announced the continuation of the ECN in Salzburg next year. We can already say: “Here’s to another round in Mozart's city!” and look forward to exploring new perspectives in Salzburg.
