On 10 and 11 September 2026, partners of the BECEE (Balanced and Enhanced Collaboration for an Entrepreneurship Ecosystem) project gathered at South East Technological University (SETU) in Waterford, Ireland, for a two-day consortium meeting focused on strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems and advancing collaboration between higher education and industry.
The meeting brought together representatives from BECEE’s four academic partners: Hanze University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland), South East Technological University (Ireland), and University “Aleksandër Moisiu” Durrës (Albania), together with industry partners from the four participating countries.
Sharing experience across European entrepreneurship ecosystems
The Waterford meeting provided an opportunity for partners to review project progress, exchange experiences and share practices from their respective regional entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Discussions focused particularly on how universities, businesses and entrepreneurship support organizations can work together more effectively to create environments in which students, researchers and entrepreneurs can develop ideas, access relevant expertise and infrastructure, and move innovative concepts towards practical and sustainable ventures.
The meeting also contributed to the continued development of the BECEE framework, which aims to bring together lessons and practices from the participating regions and translate them into practical approaches for supporting entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey.
Connecting higher education, industry and entrepreneurship
A central ambition of BECEE is to strengthen the relationship between higher education institutions and industry.
By combining the experience, knowledge and infrastructure available within each partner ecosystem, the project seeks to build more inclusive, innovative and resilient entrepreneurship environments around European universities.
The Waterford meeting demonstrated the value of this collaborative approach, enabling partners from Albania, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland to learn from different models, identify transferable practices and jointly explore solutions that can be adapted to different institutional and regional contexts.
As BECEE continues its activities, this cross-border collaboration will remain central to the project’s mission: connecting knowledge, entrepreneurship and industry to transform ideas into sustainable impact.
BECEE is a two-year European project running from April 2025 to April 2027, led by Hanze University of Applied Sciences and supported by EIT Food.
Different ecosystems. Shared knowledge. Stronger Entrepreneurship.
