Questions & Answers

Next Generation is the largest collaboration ever between universities and growth-promoting organizations in Copenhagen. The objective is to strengthen students' skills, knowledge and action within the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. Next Generation aims to develop a healthy culture for entrepreneurship where students, companies and teachers interact and cooperate to make future generations better at creating growth.
 

Next Generation is going to make students and new graduates better at creating growth by offering a wide range of courses, workshops and events, promoting education in entrepreneurship, improving the professors' knowledge and teaching skills within the field, as well as providing practical consulting for students with an entrepreneurial spirit that want to start up their own company or create growth in existing ones.

The project's full titel is: 'Next Generation - highly educated entrepreneurs in the metropolitan area' and consists of four parts:

• Knowledge, subjects and courses - the traditional university education needs to be complemented with hands-on innovation practises to make education in innovation and entrepreneurship more interesting for a larger number of students and professors.

• Awareness - the demand for courses and subjects in entrepreneurship and innovation needs to be increased. Students and professors should therefore be informed about existing and new opportunities within the field of entrepreneurships as well as how research-based knowledge can lead to business start-ups or enhanced growth in existing companies.

• Elite Professor Corps - a corps of 18 elite professors in entrepreneurship is to be established. This network of professors across universities and faculties will serve as the driving force in the design and implementation of innovative education and teaching in entrepreneurship.

• From university to market - students with a good business idea needs assistance to mature, realize and commercialize it.
 

Next Generation has a budget of 34 millions Danish kroner for the next 4 years (2010-2013). The partners have sponsored 25% of the budget. 25% is financed by Region Hovedstaden (The Capital Region of Denmark), Vækstforum Hovedstaden (The Growth Forum for the Capital Region of Denmark), and the remaining 50% is financed by the European Social Fund.
 

Entrepreneurship refers to a act of being enterprising, demonstrating initiative and willing to setting new activities into motion, especially by undertaking a new business venture. Entrepreneurship is used in Next Generation as an umbrella concept that covers entrepreneurship in its traditional sense - i.e. starting up a new company - and innovation. Innovation is defined as new application of existing knowledge or new knowledge applied with the purpose of adding value.
Intrapreneurship refers to entreprenurial thinking or action within an existing corporation or organization.