Kick-off meeting of the RiEcoLab – Responsible Innovation-Led Entrepreneurial University Transformation Centres (Ecosystem Integration Labs) project was held on 23^rd September 2021, with the participation of EIT representatives.

RiEcoLab​  is funded by HEI Initiative: Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education that was launched by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and is led by EIT RawMaterials. The Project is coordinated by University of Lodz in partnership of Yaşar University, University College Dublin, National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), Wageningen Economic Research, European Business Angels Network (EBAN), Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities and Triple Helix Association- Helixconnect.

The overall joint vision of RiEcoLab for 2030 is to develop a novel way of performing research and development in universities to ensure immediate commercialisation (spin-offs) and involvement of a large number of internal stakeholders (academic and non-academic staff, as well as students). The new operational framework will be introduced via Ecosystem Integration Labs (EILs), which will be developed and implemented by each participating university (by relying on existing infrastructures, such as research support offices and technology transfer offices). The EILs will be tailored based on each university’s HEInnovate needs assessment and smart specialisation areas, which will govern the focus of the envisioned spin-offs. As a result, this will motivate each higher education institution (HEI) to commit to their Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP).

Yasar University’s IVAP vision is “to become Aegean Region’s most active ​innovation/entrepreneurship hub fostering inclusive spin-offs/startups/scale-ups and creating and sustaining innovative networks, pioneering in the areas of digital technologies applied in the agri-food sector; hence, to achieve sustainable circular economic development meeting all the regional, environmental, cultural, and social needs, in compliance with all quadruple helix actors (industry, academia, government and civil society).”​

Please click here to see the Fact Sheet of the project.