JKU Students and Employees at the EC2U’s Entrepreneurship Week in Coimbra

Organized by the EC²U's "Innovation Hub", Entrepreneur Week in October focused mainly on innovation in healthcare.

Diego Caparrós Vaquer , Luczak Wiktor , Talha Malik, Kyrylo Meliushko, Veronika Sboieva and Elisabeth Ulbrich; photo credit: Kyrylo Meliushko

The JKU representatives consisted of a group of students (Kyrylo Meliushko, Luczak Wiktor, Veronika Sboieva, Talha Malik, and Diego Caparrós Vaquer), along with two JKU employees, including Elisabeth Ulbrich (OIC JKU).

The topic addressed innovation in the healthcare sector, guiding participants through important phases such as generating new ideas, producing prototypes, and delivering presentations. Over the course of four days and with mentor support, the students engaged in expert-led workshops to address real-life healthcare challenges and come up with innovative solutions. The program culminated with a pitch competition in which teams presented their ideas to a jury. This year's winning proposal, "CommuniCare", pitched an idea to improve healthcare accessibility in family-based settings, an idea that clearly reflects the EC²U Alliance's commitment to fostering impactful ideas.

In addition to entrepreneurial activities, the week's program included an opportunity for JKU members to learn more about the start-up environment by exploring the IPN incubator in Coimbra. A cultural program also included a visit to the city's UNESCO heritage sites. JKU participant Diego Caparrós Vaquer commended the program organizers and remarked: "The well-structured program was educational, fun, and I left Coimbra with new ideas, new business contacts, and a more honed entrepreneurial mindset."

The EC²U's "Entrepreneurial Week" was an opportunity to underpin the Alliance's mission of equipping students with the skills and network contacts they need to address - and ultimately solve - real-world issues. By placing innovation in healthcare at the forefront, the program succeeded in empowering the next generation of European entrepreneurs to contribute significantly and positively impact to the future of healthcare.