Supported by EIT Digital & Funded by the Europeon Union. An EIT HEI Initiative
We focus on increasing the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education in the fields of the arts and creative practices

How do we achieve that?

C-Accelerate are FIVE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS & PARTNERS that provide ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION to students by SHARING EXPERTISE.

We work towards incrementally improving the degree to which entrepreneurship is included within the core ecosystem of the future European University and to which innovation is central in its consolidation.
Learn more about our mission
Partners
Logo FilmEULogo Aalto UniversityLogo University LusofonaLogo LUCA School of ArtsLogo Talinn UniversityLogo Institute of Arts, Design, Technology, Dun LaoghaireLogo Aaltoes
Pitch Please
Ongoing
Belgium

Pitch Please

A community platform for entrepreneurial students. By inspiring, motivating and converting into action, they are invited to participate in webinars, networking events, workshops and startup coaching.
View project
Student Enterprise Bootcamp
Ongoing
Ireland

Student Enterprise Bootcamp

An annually programme to provide IADT students/graduates with the skills to become entrepreneurs and test the market validation of their ideas.
View project
PLAY your Idea
Ongoing
Portugal

PLAY your Idea

An European partnership to integrate people with different cultures and profiles with a goal to develop new European startup companies, and a more wider network of startup founders.
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IGNITE student accelerator
Ongoing
Finland

IGNITE student accelerator

The 10-week-long student startup accelerator supports 12-15 teams of potential future founders on their first steps towards creating real companies.
View project
Werkhuis Genk
Ongoing
Belgium

Werkhuis Genk

A physical workplace in the Belgian city Genk, where creative and artistic young professionals could find their own spot. It’s a student managed and owned place for creative minds at work.
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CIAKL II Cinema and Industry Alliance for Knowledge and Learning
Ongoing
Portugal

CIAKL II Cinema and Industry Alliance for Knowledge and Learning

A project on the creation, organization and dissemination of a transversal subject and Post-Graduation curricula, focusing on the lack and needs in creative industries to the entrepreneurial mindset.
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Series of Events by Aalto Entrepreneurship Society
Ongoing
Finland

Series of Events by Aalto Entrepreneurship Society

Regular events connecting Finnish startup ecosystem players – including startup founders, corporate executives, venture capitalists, and angel investors - with Aalto students.
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STARTERtallinn
Ongoing
Estonia

STARTERtallinn

Tallinn University is part of this project/event that gives participants inspiration and information on different business areas so that they will be able to generate ideas they can develop in teams.
View project
Media Cube Student Accelerator
Ongoing
Ireland

Media Cube Student Accelerator

The Student Accelerator Programme runs every year for 4 weeks. It is aimed at getting you to work on a start-up idea from beginning to end. You could come up with a proposal for a gallery, a show, ...
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24 hour Design Challenge
Ongoing
Ireland

24 hour Design Challenge

A design thinking hackathon format that is facilitated to encourage students to come up with solutions for problems. Students from diverse disciplines are mixed together to form teams.
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IDBM Challenge course
Ongoing
Finland

IDBM Challenge course

Aalto students from diverse educational backgrounds acquire the skills to conceptualize, develop, and introduce ethically and commercially sustainable approaches to complex societal challenges.
View project

Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo in Conversation at IADT

On November 22nd 2022, IADT hosted, Mauro Porcini, a global champion for design thinking and design-led innovation in business.
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VER.WERKT - Student Makers Market

In December 2022, 15 LUCA students organised a creative makers market in Genk (BE). They put together the event from A to Z, from finding a budget, student vendors to all practical needs and a public.
View project

IADT x Industry

On May 25th, IADT Industry Day 2023 was hosted by Conall Ó Móráín from That Great Business Show. Presentation of IADT work in UI/UX, app development, animation, virtual reality and 3d modelling.
View project

Projects

We proudly present some of our entrepreneurial projects.
Office setting
Design
8 min read

UX review presentations

How do you create compelling presentations that wow your colleagues and impress your managers?
Read post
Man working at desk
Product
8 min read

Migrating to Linear 101

Linear helps streamline software projects, sprints, tasks, and bug tracking. Here’s how to get started.
Read post
Office setting
Design
8 min read

UX review presentations

How do you create compelling presentations that wow your colleagues and impress your managers?
Read post
Man working at desk
Product
8 min read

Migrating to Linear 101

Linear helps streamline software projects, sprints, tasks, and bug tracking. Here’s how to get started.
Read post

We’re proud of the projects that we help.
Our showcase

Ongoing
Media Cube Student Accelerator
Ireland
The Student Accelerator Programme runs every year for 4 weeks. It is aimed at getting you to work on a start-up idea from beginning to end. You could come up with a proposal for a gallery, a show, ...
View Project
Ongoing
STARTERtallinn
Estonia
Tallinn University is part of this project/event that gives participants inspiration and information on different business areas so that they will be able to generate ideas they can develop in teams.
View Project
Ongoing
CIAKL II Cinema and Industry Alliance for Knowledge and Learning
Portugal
A project on the creation, organization and dissemination of a transversal subject and Post-Graduation curricula, focusing on the lack and needs in creative industries to the entrepreneurial mindset.
View Project
Ongoing
IDBM Challenge course
Finland
Aalto students from diverse educational backgrounds acquire the skills to conceptualize, develop, and introduce ethically and commercially sustainable approaches to complex societal challenges.
View Project
Ongoing
Pitch Please
Belgium
A community platform for entrepreneurial students. By inspiring, motivating and converting into action, they are invited to participate in webinars, networking events, workshops and startup coaching.
View Project
Ongoing
IGNITE student accelerator
Finland
The 10-week-long student startup accelerator supports 12-15 teams of potential future founders on their first steps towards creating real companies.
View Project
Past project
IADT x Industry
Ireland
On May 25th, IADT Industry Day 2023 was hosted by Conall Ó Móráín from That Great Business Show. Presentation of IADT work in UI/UX, app development, animation, virtual reality and 3d modelling.
View Project
Past project
VER.WERKT - Student Makers Market
Belgium
In December 2022, 15 LUCA students organised a creative makers market in Genk (BE). They put together the event from A to Z, from finding a budget, student vendors to all practical needs and a public.
View Project
Past project
Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo in Conversation at IADT
Ireland
On November 22nd 2022, IADT hosted, Mauro Porcini, a global champion for design thinking and design-led innovation in business.
View Project

C-Accelerate Conference II - Keynote fashion designer - entrepreneur Tessa Borrenberghs

Student entrepreneurship @ LUCA School of Arts Belgium

Student entrepreneurship @ Aalto University Finland

Student entrepreneurship @ IADT Ireland

Student entrepreneurship @ Lusofóna University Portugal

Student entrepreneurship @ BFM - Tallinn University Estonia

IADT 24hr design challenge

Discover more?
Watch our video content.
Office setting

Video 1

Video Summary
What we offer
For students

It is important to possess entrepreneurial skills to stay on top in professional life. Training students in those skills in parallel with their artistic domain skills makes them future ready. Building on the existing portfolio of educational and entre-preneurial initiatives of the partners, C-Accelerate focuses on the delivery of
two innovation and entrepreneurial curricula and study training programmes that responds to the specific needs of entrepreneurship education for the creative industries.

IDBM (International Design Business Management) deals with a tailored challenge-based approach, bringing together undergraduate and master students involved in C-Accelerate through theoretical explorations and practical experiments. The course invites the students to acquire the skills to conceptualize, develop, and introduce ethically and commercially sustainable approaches to complex societal challenges.

C-Accelerate EM (Entrepreneurial Module) will specifically target students in the arts and focus on the application of entrepreneurship related competences in order to foster project-based innovation in the arts.

For trainers

Entrepreneurial education is primarily focused upon the development and teaching of the entrepreneurial mindset. The key to entrepreneurial education lies with the trainers who should first identify and recognize aspects that can or can’t be controlled, secondly provide a variety of tools and methods for the students to co-create and learn, and finally recognize the limitations of such methods in mimicking real-life.

Research suggests that methods that involve students in experiences outside the classroom and connect them to the real world are central to entrepreneurship education. We implement a methodology that builds on the four pillars: 1) Information and ideation, 2) Investigation, 3) Implementation, 4) Incrementation and focus on concrete actions that will capacitate the C-Accelerate institutions to increase their entrepreneurial and innovation capacity.

Learning methods will be experiential, bringing entrepreneurial education closer to reality through the effective involvement of external stakeholders such as industrial partners and professionals.

For entrepreneurs

We take into account the motivation and needs of students but also the specificities of the sectors where they will strive for their employability.

The C-Accelerate project includes specific training on entrepreneurship that provides students with skills to develop innovative businesses, but also transferable skills that can foster employability, besides project-based entrepreneurship courses that can increase sectorial innovation.

C-Accelerate Tech is setting up a Transfer office (TTO) that can further guide projects with potential to market. The C-Accelerate TTO will deal with project to market support.

Our associated partners
Logo Agenschap Innoveren & OndernemenLogo Trinidad WisemanLogo NewCo HelsinkiLogo KiuasLogo Eesti Ettevotluskorgkool mainorLogo SP TelevisaoLogo Von Krahli TeaterLogo Finnish VC Association