Date: Mon.-Thu. December 8 – 11, 2025
Event: EELISA Skill Up 2025: Collaboration, Inclusion & Entrepreneurial Universities
Organizer: EELISA (FAU)
EELISA Skill Up 2025: Collaboration, Inclusion & Entrepreneurial Universities takes place from December 8-11, 2025 at ZHAW in Winterthur, Switzerland. Organized for the EELISA European University Alliance, this dynamic week will bring together researchers, educators, and innovators to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in research and education. The event features two workshops, of which participants can attend either one or both:
December 8-9. Unlocking the Potential of Missing Entrepreneurs: Addressing Barriers to Inclusive Innovation & Entrepreneurship
December 10-11. Train the Trainer: Collaboration, Alumni Engagement & Regional Entrepreneurship
Why Attend?
By attending EELISA Skill Up, you will:
• Enhance your professional skills in innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusion, and teaching.
• Network and collaborate with researchers, educators, and professionals from across the EELISA Alliance’s 10 participating universities.
• Engage in hands-on learning through workshops and discussions, gaining actionable strategies for supporting entrepreneurship and driving inclusive innovation in research and education.
• Immerse yourself in Swiss culture with excursions and culinary experiences that add a unique pre-Christmas atmosphere to the event.
Registration
Application deadline: December 5, 2025
See more about this event
About
Mon.-Tue. December 8-9, 2025
Unlocking the Potential of Missing Entrepreneurs: Addressing Barriers to Inclusive Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Speakers:
• Prof. Sibylle Heilbrunn, GHU
• Aki Harima, Entrepreneurship Research Group at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
This workshop addresses one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary entrepreneurship: the systematic underrepresentation of certain groups in business creation and innovation. Drawing from the comprehensive OECD report on “Missing Entrepreneurs,” this session will explore the barriers that prevent women, youth, seniors, immigrants, and other underrepresented groups from fully participating in entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Wed.-Thu. December 10-11, 2025
Train the Trainer: Collaboration, Alumni Engagement & Regional Entrepreneurship
Speakers:
• Prof. Aard J. Groen, University of Groningen
• Olga Belousova, University of Groningen
Join us for an innovative two-day workshop exploring collaboration, alumni engagement, and regional entrepreneurship. In this workshop, we will focus on identifying and adapting hands-on approaches to:
-Building strong alumni networks that accelerate mentoring for startups, generate interesting (for student & alumnus) internships, and co-funded projects or co-investing in spin offs;
-Forming (regional) innovation partnerships with industry, hospitals, public agencies, startups and startup support organizations, international soft landing partnerships;
-Designing entrepreneurial teaching that benefits from and enables the collaboration.
Program
The detailed program will be shared closer to the event.
EELISA Skill Up 2025 focuses on empowering innovation and entrepreneurship across EELISA universities. By joining one or both workshops, participants will learn how to address barriers to inclusive innovation and strengthen entrepreneurship through university structures, alumni engagement, and teaching.
WHEN
Mon.-Thu. December 8 – 11, 2025
WHERE
ZHAW Proof-of-Concept Lab
Lagerplatz 24, 8048 Winterthur, Switzerland
Audience
Researchers, educators, and professional, and tech-transfer officers at all levels — PhD candidates, PostDocs, lecturers, specialists, and professors.
Valuable for researchers in business studies, social sciences, public policy, and innovation studies, as well as practitioners working in economic development, diversity and inclusion, and entrepreneurship education.
Useful information
Covered Essentials & Provisions
Enjoy cultural excursions and Swiss cuisine, all covered by ZHAW. To make your experience seamless and enriching, all food, drinks, and cultural excursions are covered by ZHAW. Please refer to your universities for additional support for traveling expenses, etc.
See more about EELISA at FAU
Contact
In case of questions:
Nina Walker (nina.walker@zhaw.ch)
Petra Moog (petra.moog@zhaw.ch)
• Melanie Viebahn – EELISA project manager @FAU – contact for organisational and technical issues
• Iman Hamadi – founders support office @FAU
• David Schkade – EELISA project manager @FAU
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