In our article “Developing a model for cooperation and service delivery in the Medtech4 Europe project” we have already introduced the Medtech4 Europe project and explained that the aim of the action is to develop cooperation, in particular to thematise and make available online the professional services required by the participants of the medical technology development and manufacturing market.
In this article, we would like to present another activity carried out under the action:
– Development of a capacity development knowledge base and mentoring programme
Capacity Development
Capacity development is even more important in the changed working environment due to the epidemic situation, as it helps to improve the performance of the organisation and increase its added value. Capacity in general refers to the set of elements (knowledge, skills, technologies, etc.) that determine the performance of a system. It is important to know that capacity indicators can be quantitative or qualitative. The strength of quantitative indicators lies in their objectivity (e.g. public debt ratio, percentage of eGovernment users), while qualitative indicators describe the characteristics of processes and ways of working that are identified by professional sources as determinants of good performance. 1
Activities
The proposed activities must be directly related to the general and specific objectives of the type of application, i.e. they must correspond to one or more of the thematic areas listed above and be detailed in the project description covering the whole period of implementation. Finally, project activities under this global transnational call should focus primarily on developing and strengthening the capacity of youth organisations/institutions and young people in the partner countries concerned by this call.
The projects funded may integrate a wide range of cooperation, exchange of experience, communication and other activities which:
– contribute to stimulating policy dialogue, cooperation, networking and exchange of practices;
– promote strategic cooperation between youth organisations/institutions and public authorities, in particular in the eligible partner countries;
– promote cooperation between youth, education and training organisations/institutions and labour market organisations/institutions;
– increase the capacities of youth councils, youth platforms and local, regional and national youth authorities, in particular in the eligible partner countries;
– increase the capacity for governance, leadership and innovation, leadership and internationalisation of youth organisations/institutions, in particular in eligible partner countries;
– support the development of information and awareness-raising campaigns, information, communication and media tools;
– promote the development of youth work methods, tools and materials;
– create new forms of youth work and provide training and support; promote mobility for non-formal learning purposes.
Mentoring workshops
Design Terminal 3
The innovation agency Design Terminal is building “Innovation Champions” through corporate partnerships and talent management programmes in 12 countries. It mentors start-ups, SMEs, talent management, business development, investment brokerage, and provides consulting services to large companies and brings innovation challenges to their business. It empowers business leaders and employees, as well as start-up founders, with knowledge, connections and an innovative approach to boost innovation within their organisations.
Mentoring programme:
Design Terminal organises incubation programmes in twelve countries and has worked with over 1000 startups and leading large companies from many industries since 2014. Its flagship programme is the Mentor Programme, which runs twice a year, in the spring and autumn semesters. It provides support to Hungarian and international start-ups in product and business development, communication, sales, financial planning, as well as guidance and advice on organisational and legal issues. The strength of the programme lies in the mentoring team of national and international experts, who play an important role in providing individual mentoring tailored to the needs of the teams. During the incubation, startups also participate in online workshops and community-building programmes. These trainings will help the teams to be ready to attract potential investors. The teams will be provided with a community office and will be able to build relationships with national and foreign investors and the Design Terminal’s corporate partners. Within the Mentoring Programme, special attention is given to female startup founders, and to focus on this, a series of events called Womentoring, which supports female entrepreneurs, was launched in 2019. The Mentoring Programme has already supported more than fifty start-ups according to their specific needs.
Developing entrepreneurial skills 4
Skills development sessions
The personal and social competences needed for proactivity, as well as the tool competences needed for planning and implementation, are developed in five thematic areas: self-awareness; communication; collaboration and competition; project planning; and starting a business.
Master thesis
In addition to the competency sessions, we encourage participants to create a so-called “entrepreneurial masterpiece”, reflecting or stimulating a need in the students, the school, the environment, where they will go through a creative process from objective to implementation. This could be an actual enterprise under the Junior Achievment scheme, a charity event, a search for and showcase of school alumni entrepreneurs, or any proactive, value-creating initiative that puts a new idea into practice. The craft project will put into action the skills covered in the competence-building sessions.
Getting to know entrepreneurs
The surest way to break down stereotypes and prejudices that hinder knowledge is to meet entrepreneurs face-to-face. In order to be able to use these situations well, it is useful for students to get to know entrepreneurs’ mindsets and relevant issues concerning entrepreneurship through written or video interviews.
[1] Ászhirportál – Miért fontos és hogyan működik a kapacitásfejlesztés?
– https://www.aszhirportal.hu/hu/hirek/miert-fontos-es-hogyan-mukodik-a-kapacitasfejlesztes
[2] Erasmus + – Kapacitásfejlesztés az ifjúsági területen – https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/hu/node/31
[3] Wikipédia – Design Termil – https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_Terminal
[4] Osztályfőnökök Országos Szakmai Egyesülete – Mi fán terem, és hogyan fejleszthető a vállalkozói kompetencia? – https://osztalyfonok.hu/1419/
The Medtech4 Europe project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and Hungary within the Interreg Europe Program.