CreaTech

EIT HEI Initiative - Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education and eit - European Institute of Innovation & Technology; Funded by the EU

Title: CreaTech
Funding Programme: EIT HEI Initiative
Duration of the Project: 25 months
Co-financing: 1,340,000 EUR
Start Date: 1st January 2025

The CreaTech project is a partnership between several European organisations: A map of Europe showing the participating organisations

University of Tirana, Albania (Lead Partner)
Center for Education and Development (CED), Albania
University of Patras, Greece
European Creative Hubs Network, Greece
Italian National Research Council - Department of Social sciences and humanities, cultural heritage (DSU), Italy
Lascò srl, Italy
AAB University, Kosovo
Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), Slovenia
University of Bedfordshire, UK
Osford Brookes University (UK)
European University of Tirana (UET), Albania - associated partner
Mediterranean Universities Union, Italy - associated partner
Consorzio Matera Hub Industrie Culturali e Creative S.c.a.r.l., Italy - associated partner

Aim and objectives

CreaTech aims to establish a distributed innovation ecosystem to foster entrepreneurship and innovation within the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) across Europe, with a focus on the Mediterranean area. The initiative will promote the CCIs contribution to the digital, green and social transformations through enhanced collaboration with industry, research institutions and cultural stakeholders.

The key objectives:

Strengthen the capacity of HEIs to support cultural innovation through tailored training and mentorship for HEI staff, fostering institutional change and entrepreneurship.
Equip students and participants with the essential entrepreneurial skills and tools for business development.
Enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange among HEIs, start-ups, and stakeholders in the creative industries through development of an online digital platform.
Implement a start-up booster program to help cultural start-ups transform ideas into viable businesses and scale their operations effectively.

Impact

Immediate, short-term impact:

Strengthened entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of HEIs across Europe
Strengthened HEIs integration into local, regional and international innovation ecosystems
Amplified entrepreneurial and innovation capacity beyond the Initiative’s direct sphere of influence.

Systemic impact:

By 2027, CreaTech will contribute to catalysing systemic change within participating HEIs by embedding sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation frameworks that address societal challenges
and drive economic growth.

Long-term societal impact:

By 2030, CreaTech will contribute to the realisation of a carbon-neutral, digital, circular, and inclusive society through its focus on fostering innovation that aligns with the European Green Deal and the New European Innovation Agenda.