The EBN network counts among its members 3 universities (CUE , UWSP , Ilia State University ). Out of the 111 certified EU|BICs, 3 are university-linked incubators (IPN , CEI Louvain and StartHub Wageningen ), 22 have universities among their shareholders, while 89 work in close collaboration on a regular basis with Universities and Research Technology Organisations in their region.

Be it for technology transfer, for developing entrepreneurial mindset among students or for open innovation purposes -by putting into contacts star tups from the university with big companies-, these activities show that education, technology, and entrepreneurship are all important elements of one single ecosystem leading to the realisation of numerous innovation projects and the creation of sustainable start-ups and jobs.

Associate member Ilia State University in Tbilisi (Georgia) is a newcomer in the EBN network having joined in February 2021. This is one of the leading higher education institutions in the South Caucasus region focusing on scientific advancement and transferring top notch knowledge to facilitate societal development.

Established in 2006 as a merger of six different institutions, each having a long history and a diverse institutional profile, Ilia State University occupies the top position among research universities in South Caucasus (according to SCimago Institutions Rankings).

Its four schools (School of Arts and Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, School of Business, School of Law) offer distinctive training and, along with 30 large- and small-scale research institutes, centers and stations, create in-depth research opportunities in social sciences, humanities, business, law, life sciences, earth sciences, and hard sciences.

They are actively involved in numerous international cooperation projects and priorities of these international projects and programmes range from infrastructure and new programmes development to the improvement of academic and scientific potential and sharing international experience with the leading universities, research organizations, and institutions. Some successfully implemented international projects are related to development of new curriculums, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) popularization, introducing modern technologies in teaching, tech entrepreneurship, etc. 

Several of these initiatives are worth being highlighted:

Started in 2021, “Development of youth coding and tech entrepreneurial clubs network”, is a project that aims at designing and establishing School and VET institutions-based Coding and Tech Entrepreneurship Clubs in 100 locations across 8 target regions of Georgia over the next 3 years. 

As a result of the action, sectoral partnership will be strengthened between applicants, new partnerships will emerge, online space for matching the clubs with the interested mentors, as well as with IT.Tech Companies will be established too and about 2000 young people (mainly high-school and VET students, youth in NEET) will acquire basic programming and tech entrepreneurship skills.

Connecting universities-industry through smart entrepreneurial cooperation and competitive intelligence of students in Moldova, Georgia and Armenia (CONNECT).

The project aims at reinforcing the university-industry relationship based on smart (multidimensional) entrepreneurial approach in HEIs from EaP countries and enhancement of students’ and graduates’ competitive intelligence (behaviours, skills, mindsets) and their ability to create jobs.

EU4Youth Project - 'Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) for Green Growth in Borderline Communities'.  The course helps students to get familiar with key actors in the green entrepreneurship ecosystem and use their innovative/creative potential to transform green business ideas into real start-ups.

ISU has secured unique position in Georgia’s educational system for its contribution to science popularization, boosting entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country and actively carrying out social responsibility projects/activities

On the basis of its Fablab, Gamelab and Zoomout Start-up accelerator, ISU has conducted different makeathons, hackathons, game development contests, robotics contests, start-up contests and similar events involving high-school students and university students.

ISU has conducted several projects and events to train students in innovation and entrepreneurship skills, and is currently implementing the project to incorporate entrepreneurship curriculum into every education program of university.