UNIC & Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship Empower PhD Students to Turn Research into Impact

Designed as a hybrid programme and delivered in collaboration with Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, A2EI combined online sessions with a three-day, in-person training at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The programme invited more than 30 PhD candidates to approach their research not only as a scholarly contribution, but as a pathway to entrepreneurial and societal impact: not merely an exploration of ideas, but a translation of insight into action. 

To support this shift in perspective, the training included sessions on business model search as well as entrepreneurial cultures and ecosystems.

The training emphasized practical tools such as effectuation, the Business Model Canvas, and the triple-layered business model, while also reinforcing new approaches to project management, and innovation thinking. Participants also visited BlueCity010, a vivid example of circular economy practice in the former Tropicana pool, where they explored a lesson as timely as it is enduring: sustainable transitions do not emerge from good intentions alone, but from the mindsets, methods, and momentum that help ideas take root.

A PhD candidate from EUR described feeling uplifted after the programme:

"I loved hearing people's ideas and getting inspired. I did learn a lot of things, but I think the most important thing for me was that it opened up more questions and it led me to think about other possible research solutions and ideas that I could work on because I was feeling a bit stuck before. So now I had a lot of time to just kind of brainstorm a bit, which was quite helpful for me."

Additionally, a PhD student from University College Cork spoke enthusiastically about her experience during A2EI:

"The programme was fantastic! Up until now I have been thinking that my research is purely academic, as I don't have a business background. It was eye-opening, and I feel now that my research can have real impact. I know exactly what my output is and what I can offer; I have something tangible."

She went on to strongly recommend the programme: "I think all PhD students should do it, especially those with no business background and those who are early on their journey and not yet sure how their research is going to have an impact. The training really clarifies it for you. You leave it with much clearer defined objectives and goals."

One of the attendees, Mikolaj Janic, documented the experience. Watch it here.

Programmes such as A2EI are among the many great mobility opportunities UNIC offers, fostering strengthening international cooperation across universities, deepening shared learning across borders, and helping research travel beyond academia and into societal impact.