EduTech entrepreneurship programme now accepting applications

An opportunity to receive expert advice on new business ventures and discover entrepreneurship trends in online education and training: that is how Helena Mas, one of the participants in the previous EduTECH Emprèn, defined the programme run by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Under the slogan We believe in education. Let's reinvent it together, this initiative is designed to promote innovative new business ideas or projects that bring technological solutions to education. EduTECH Emprèn has launched a new call for applications, with limited spots available. There is no cost to participate and it is open to anyone who might be interested, whether or not they are affiliated with the UOC. The deadline for applications is 30 September and all you need to do is fill in this form.

The first steps on the road to entrepreneurship

Mas, who is a course instructor with the UOC Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, said: "This is a unique opportunity to learn what solid steps to take to flesh out an entrepreneurial venture and define its strategy, offering basic training for starting up a business in EdTech." Mas entered the programme with her project Whoduniter, which designs company training courses involving time travel and fictitious characters. Her initiative was also the winner of the audience award at SpinUOC 2021.

Àlex Letosa, creator of parenting aid Educatool, which won the SpinUOC 2021 social impact award, had this to say: "The programme equipped me with a range of tools to define the business plan for my project and bring it to market, thanks to the support of the contributing experts." Letosa, who is also a course instructor with the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, added that EduTECH Emprèn "was a great opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs".

"EduTECH Emprèn has helped me to better focus my energy on the project"

About EduTECH Emprèn

EduTECH Emprèn supports entrepreneurs in developing their prototype or service, defining their business model, and launching companies or entrepreneurial ventures with high growth potential in the education and ICT sector. The programme includes 100 hours of online training in business management, innovation and technology, starting on 4 October and running for 10 weeks. Depending on the growth and maturity of the participating projects, the entrepreneurs may be offered individualized mentoring, delivered online through a virtual incubator, by experts from the UOC and other institutions in the sector.

EduTECH Emprèn is a UOC initiative promoted through the Hubbik platform, which is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, open innovation, support for the transfer of research results and collaboration among the entire UOC community. The programme is supported by the Government of Catalonia's Ministry of Business and Labour and is co-funded by the European Social Fund. 

Furthermore, given that research and innovation in online learning is one of the UOC's strategic priorities, the programme is also able to benefit from use of the university's eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC).

EduTECH Emprèn is funding from the Catalan Ministry of Business and Labour and co-financing from the European Social Fund Plus.

UOC R&I

The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century, by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health.

The UOC's research is conducted by over 500 researchers and 51 research groups distributed between the university's seven faculties, the E-learning Research programme, and two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

The University also cultivates online learning innovations at its eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.

The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and open knowledge serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information: research.uoc.edu #UOC25years