The ECN
The ECN was launched in 2012 on the initiative of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at WU Vienna with the mission of promoting awareness and cross-university networking on the topic of entrepreneurship. Six Viennese universities (Academy of Fine Arts, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna University of Technology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna University of Economics and Business) joined the ECN with the aim of contributing to a sustainable increase in interdisciplinary start-ups from within the university. The ECN's flagship programme, Entrepreneurship Avenue, is now one of the largest entrepreneurship event series for students and has been organized annually together with SIMConnect since 2014.
Following a reorganization of the ECN in 2020, the focus is on cross-university networking across Austria. The participating partners, universities of applied sciences and universities, regularly exchange information on entrepreneurship activities, learnings and experiences. The ECN is also aimed at people interested in starting a business, including students, researchers, alumni and university employees. We network across universities and offer an accessible platform to gain an overview of university-related entrepreneurship offerings and to obtain initial information about starting a business.
