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2 Introduction Innovation has been widely defined as the successful commercialization of novel ideas, including products, services and processes and is being perceived as a critical component of economic growth. It seems that today, more than ever, the EU recognizes innovation as a core component in a potentially sustainable model of economic growth, mainly by developing and commercializing productivity-enhancing inventions and processes that make better use of a region s main components, such as labour, environment and intellect. Yet, a particular form of innovation, that of a collaborative nature where a leading edge organization shares knowledge, experiences and sometimes resources to support groups of people with significantly lesser innovational capacity can create significant value for both parties as well as for the economies in which such collaborations take place. Given the urgent need for economic growth in Europe and the challenges faced by innovative European entrepreneurs who seek to scale across fragmented markets characterized by limited access to venture financing, the potential of these collaborative partnerships to contribute to innovation and growth is particularly high for the EU Member States, their education and research Institutions and stakeholders.

3 Concept Based on the concept of collaborative knowledge, the Innolabs project is being developed as to enable the adequate transfer of the necessary expertise & knowledge from countries where efficient, bottom up innovation structures addressing sustainable and social issues in society are already established, to countries which seek to develop similar types of initiatives whilst reinforcing their innovational capacity and potentials. Netherlands and Denmark are both countries in which a significant number of successfully innovative projects has been initiated over the past few years, mainly by enhancing the cooperative ties between the sciences (especially new technologies), research & educational institutions, regional authorities and businesses, resulting in the emerge of new business ventures, innovative projects and solutions for problems of regional development and progress. Based on those recent experiences, countries such as Latvia, Cyprus and Estonia with an admittedly lower innovational efficiency, will through the Innolabs Project manage to gain significant knowledge on how to better develop and manage Innovation labs in their countries, similar to the ones currently operating in the Netherlands and Denmark. The main benefits foreseen through this process will be, making long-term, interesting and innovative projects and businesses that can have the potential of being sustainable, socially responsible and recognizable in each region. Therefore, the project unites universities, NGOs and SMEs in a common objective for creating and promoting innovation labs in universities as a central space for education and other stakeholders to give a room for creativity and innovation

4 Objectives The main purpose of the innovation labs is to facilitate and empower those processes capable of elevating bottom-up innovation capacity and enabling sustainable and socially responsible growth for Estonia, Latvia and Cyprus, according to the lesson learned and the methodological guidelines provided by the project partners operating in the Netherlands and Denmark. In achieving this, the project s diverse team of experts will seek to employ both physical and digital collaboration tools in order to better facilitate knowledge sharing whilst making the most of crossfunctional and cross-organizational teams and their capabilities during the implementation phase of the Innolabs project. A crucial activity envisioned within the project is the one linking education (teachers) and students of a more advanced level with practical innovation projects, facilitating in that way their active involvement in practical, multidisciplinary, and socially sustainable issues. This process will specifically foresee the co-creation of new innovative projects and/or ventures that are directly linked to the local particularities of the region society, environment and market. In doing so, the project will seek to raise the innovation capacity of universities amongst students and teachers by engaging them in multidisciplinary teams dedicated in developing socially innovative projects. Through that process, students will be equipped with an entrepreneurial set of skills and capabilities, necessary for them to be able to act efficiently in their potential workplace (team work, multidisciplinary, creativity, result-orientated approach, etc.) as one of the most notable problems within the labor market of today is the gap between university knowledge and the real, on-the-job skills. Expected long term results Eventually the kind of social innovation promoted and reinforced through Innolabs, will help to foster sustainable economic growth and the creation of more prosperous societies. Bottom up innovation with a socially conscious drive such as the one been promoted through this particular project can contribute into solving some of a society s most pressing problems by deploying new technologies and solutions in areas such as housing, health and the environment and that can be directly applicable to local societies, industries and communities.

5 In the process of creating solutions, it is also profoundly important to change beliefs, basic practices, resources, and social power structures. The main workings of Innolabs will look to provide a unique opportunity to step back from a narrow way of thinking about the involvement of educational institution, social enterprises and business and to promote the interconnectedness of various the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information factors and stakeholders. Main activities of InnoLabs The project is divided in several work packages that all serve a goal to be achieved within the project: WP 0 Management and coordination is an ongoing activity during the project life cycle. WP 1 Feasibility studies are the studies of universities in Latvia, Estonia and Cyprus for setting and understanding the background conditions for innovation in their respective environments. WP 2 Development plans for Innovation labs is the workpackage, where universtieis will develop the development plan how the innovation lab shall operate within the partner university. It contains the objectives of the innovation lab, required resources, links with education and research, and important managerial aspects of the innovation lab development.

6 WP 3 Innovation labs co-creation projects are the student projects the newly established innovation labs in partner universities will implement during the project together with the stakeholders. WP 4 Development of methodological materials for innovation labs - the methodological materials will be developed for other interesants, who would want to follow the same objective of innovation lab development. The study visits to the innovation labs in the Netherlands and Denmark will help with the methodology development for innovation labs. WP 5 Dissemination activities will take place during whole project life cycle.

7 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Ilze Plesa: Foundation of Society - Latvia Martin Lehmann: martinl@plan.aau.dk Aalborg University - Denmark Harri Moora: harri.moora@seit.ee SEI Tallinn - Estonia Kaspars Osis: Kaspars.osis@va.lv Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences - Latvia Yiannis Konnaris: yk@interfusionservices.com Interfusion Services - Cyprus Panayiotis Christodoulou: panchristodoulou@hotmail.com Cyprus University of Technology - Cyprus Peter Joore: peter.joore@nhl.nl NHL - Netherlands Inga Raukas: Inga.raukas@artun.ee Estonian Academy of Arts - Estonia