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The project “Nordic Baltic Universities boosting entrepreneurial and innovation support systems (NOBALIS)” is carried out by a Nordic- Baltic consortium consisting of five universities with background in life sciences, agriculture and technologies, and two organizations specializing in technology transfer, start-up support and acceleration programs. The project is coordinated by Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). The NOBALIS partners (NOBP) are: Baltic Innovation Agency (BIA), Ard Innovation (Ard), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technology (LLU), Linnaeus University (LNU), Estonian University of Life Sciences (EULS), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The NOBALIS consortium aims to develop, share and expand its innovation and entrepreneurship support capabilities in the areas of sustainable food production, circular economy, and development of new green value chains. The project builds on the similar academic profiles and historical connection of the partners through the NOVA/BOVA/Erasmus+ networks, mixing it with new partners and unique strengths of each partner to create opportunities for sharing and institutionalizing good practices well beyond the project period.
The overall vision of NOBALIS is that consortium members will integrate innovation and entrepreneurship on an equal level as education and research in their organizations towards 2030. The vision will be materialized through an ambitious and focused Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP) and targeted objectives that will create systematic impact and strong partnerships beyond the NOBALIS project period.
The overall objectives of NOBALIS are to:
- Integrate I&E as part of daily routines in all parts of the organization;
- leverage the integration of HEIs and their contribution to the innovation ecosystem through close collaboration on the part of a variety of knowledge triangle stakeholders.
The implementation of the Innovation Vision Action Plan will lead to the expected outcomes:
- facilitate the existing innovation capacity of HEIs specialized in bio-based research through institutional learning, developing a comprehensive institutional policy and framework, and measurement system for I&E activities;
- pool existing knowledge, networks and good practices, supporting bio-based I&E in the Nordic−Baltic region, using it for co-learning and co-creating new knowledge and skills to improve the practices, and validating and adjusting the models to each HEI to address its weaknesses;
- produce well-documented and disseminated information and ideas for I&E and partnership activities that is available for transfer to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Community members, and other HEIs interested in developing their I&E capacity;
- enhance the impact and visibility of HEIs in the innovation ecosystem of the Nordic−Baltic region through expanding the partnerships and improving capacity to support entrepreneurship to offer research and development services to the private and public sector;
- raise awareness of opportunities for bio-based innovations and facilitate the entrepreneurial mindset, skills and learning of young people, academics and non-academic to encourage entrepreneurship, taking chances on entrepreneurial opportunities using regional and HEIs resources.
The main target groups for mentorship and training are students, academic staff members and non-academic staff members. Enterprises, clusters and non-governmental organizations representing the food, bio-resources and bio-technology sectors engaged in the NOBALIS Entrepreneurial and Innovation Capacity Development Programme will benefit through dissemination and networking events, and the establishment of new partnerships. The regional public sector will benefit from stronger I&E activity in the HEIs through the creation of new jobs and increased settlement of young people; and the general public will benefit from sustainable and green innovations launched in the market.
Implementation
The project is divided into two phases:
- Phase 1: July 2022 to December 2022
- Phase 2: January 2023 to June 2024
