Labs of Innovation and Business for Young Actors of start UP

About the project

The project increases the cultural and entrepreneurial contribution of Libyan university institutions in the process of economic and social growth of the country. The goal is to improve their organizational skills to connect academic research activities to the labor market and civil society, in particular through the implementation of TTO - Technology Transfer Offices (corresponding to UTT - Technology Transfer Offices present in some universities Italians).

In fact, Libyan universities need support both to improve internal organization and to strengthen coordination and networking activities aimed at expanding their international visibility. They play a primary role in promoting national innovation processes as they already have high academic levels. However, they would be able to further stimulate internal development if only they could sufficiently disseminate their research results. Therefore, for the Libyan academic world, TTOs represent a window on the entrepreneurial and labor market, through which to show research and ideas outside, promote creativity, enhance social dialogue and initiate young people into professions.

The project, after an analysis of the social, legal and economic situation of the country, as well as the level and potential of scientific and technological research in the university environment, focuses on the development of the aforementioned dissemination / promotion system.

The representatives of ten Libyan universities and three European organizations virtually met on November 11th to celebrate the official launch of the “LIBYA UP - Labs of Innovation and Business for Young Actors of start UP” project.

The latter is a Capacity Building initiative in the higher education sector, co-financed by the European Erasmus + program and undertaken by Link Campus University (LCU) with the coordination of the project manager Raffaele Longo, the vision of the designer Valentina Caferri and the guide science by innovator Dario Carrrera.

The project aims to create in Libya, over a three-year period, an innovative national model of academic management (through the establishment of "Technology Transfer Offices" in each partner university), capable of generating virtuous links between scientific research and the market of local work that foster the growth and diversification of entrepreneurship (especially young people) and consequently a higher employment rate.

The achievement of the ambitious goal involves the realization, among other things, of qualitative and quantitative analyzes, of constant theoretical and practical training sessions between international experts and local stakeholders, as well as the direct supply to Libyan universities of the technical equipment useful for installing and start the first workstations.

The online meeting replaced the physical event initially scheduled in spring 2020 at the Link Campus University headquarters in Rome and continuously postponed due to the international restrictions necessary to combat Covid19.

The partners also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss in depth and animatedly between the various points of view, on the organizational and financial needs / priorities to be addressed, in the short and long term, to ensure the effective continuation of the project. A shared action plan was drawn up also containing contingent measures capable of mitigating the effects of the local geo-political crisis, on the one hand, and the global health crisis, on the other.

The Kick Off Meeting was also an authoritative stage to reciprocally present the first results of market research in which the partners have already tried their hand, in cooperation with each other, to learn the state of the art of "technology transfer" in area of ​​North Africa and the European Union.

The final wish is to be able to meet live as soon as possible, in order to evaluate the effects of the project within the country system and plan other fruitful collaborations.

Activities

Activities and meetings of project