Interreg

The CE3 project (Crossborder Entrepreneurial Energy Education) content

It is noticeable that the students unfortunately cooperate little across borders and often lack an international perspective.. The CE3 project (Crossborder Entrepreneurial Energy Education) wants to change this! The goal of the CE3 project is to make students of the Technical University (TU/e), Hochschule Dusseldorf (HSD), Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences aware of cross-border entrepreneurship during their studies and afterwards. In an early phase, they discover opportunities that are open to them.

This is not done with a regular focus on spin-off companies, but by setting up international student teams and allowing them to grow from a student company in a startup. In recent years, student teams have already managed to manifest themselves as a ‘development collective’. However, there have been bottlenecks in forming these teams, such as:

-The formation of such a team took place in an unstructured way so that the right qualities are not always matched with each other.

-There is a lack of insight into (international) entrepreneurship and the opportunities are seen and seized.

The CE3 project wants to change this by means of a structured approach and approach to enable these teams to do business better and more successfully. Participating students are given the opportunity to form a professional student team with the right attention and focus to accelerate from idea to entrepreneurship.

Originally, this project was mainly aimed at start-ups dealing with the energy turnaround. But we are now looking at a broader range of start-ups, for example in areas such as medical technology, agro-food, logistics and the creative sector.

Within the CE3 project, enterprising students are given the opportunity:
-Through networking to matchmaking across borders for coaches, team members, customers and the whole ecosystem
-To follow master classes, training courses and startup bootcamps.
-Are they challenged to do business across the border alone or in a team (specifically: the Interreg D-NL region).
-Guidance for entrepreneurial student teams in the form of business development and monthly small-scale tender vouchers.

Are you a student and do you want to do international business?

1. Are you an entrepreneurial student and would you like to follow master classes, training courses or startup bootcamps?

During the master classes and training courses, you will learn specific components (legal, financial, marketing, etc.) that come into play when setting up your own business, as well as intercultural differences, international entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills.

In the startup bootcamp the following topics will be discussed:
– Problem Finding
– Solution Finding
– Business Model Innovation & Design
– Marketing
– Founders Issues

Would you like to have more information about the specific dates and times? And would you like to register for a program? Please contact the your contact person of your educational institution > see contact details further on this page.

2. Do you have a good idea for a startup or an existing company? Then let your business grow across borders with CE3 Funding.

Seize the opportunity to further develop your startup idea and broaden your market towards Germany. Especially in times of Corona it might be the right time to consider which direction you want to take with your company or to actually take the step to start. Within the CE3 project we have set up an “open call”, which provides funding for (commercial) start-up activities, with a focus on the connection between the Netherlands and Germany.

Grant conditions

-Your idea/project or startup must have a link with Germany, German students or products/services that are (or could be) bought or sold in Germany. More specifically the Interreg D-NL region .

-Every student can participate in this project and is able to submit an application.
(!) Projects in the idea phase can also be submitted.

-Subsidy will be reinforced for startup activities in the following sectors:
Life Sciences / Medical / Biotechnology / Healthcare
Energy and environmental technology 
Logistics
Nano- and micro-technology / materials / high-tech materials
Agrofood business
Creative sector

-The contribution is between €250 and €2,000. This is not a loan nor a gift. It is a support and a grant. Of course, you have to show us what you spend the money on.

-There will be a monthly application round, which closes every last day of the month.

Please contact your contact person at your educational institution to obtain more information about the registration process > see contact details further on this page.

The active partners involved:

–BABLE is a spin-off of the Fraunhofer IAO, whose goal is to support the sustainable development of cities in Europe and beyond. For this purpose, an online networking platform has been developed and various online tools and consulting services are offered to support the implementation of Smart City solutions. Besides the experience in founding and running a start-up in the sector of sustainability, BABLE established one of the biggest network of actors active in the European smart city market. In the project BABLE intends to support student teams by connecting them with the right representatives of the institutions in this network.

-The TU/E is a leading international university in Eindhoven, which specializes in engineering sciences & technology and wants to contribute to the solution of major sustainability issues. For its pursuit of sustainability, TU/E has opted for an integrated approach. TU/e trains the engineers of tomorrow. They are aware of the challenges we face worldwide. That is why TU/e strives to include sustainability in the curriculum of every program. TU/e has a great deal of experience in entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of engineering; from market demand to interaction with clients and investors in an international context. They also contribute this knowledge to the CE3 project, enabling potential entrepreneurs to take the right steps more quickly.

–Fontys University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands and offers a variety of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Fontys has a clear social mission: to offer inspiring, challenging and high-quality higher professional education and to carry out practical, socially responsible research. Education and research are suitable for current and future questions and the needs of the student, the professional field and (regional) society. The Fontys Centre for Entrepreneurship (CvO) exists within Fontys. The CvO supports and stimulates (potential) student entrepreneurs where necessary in the field of entrepreneurship. Thanks to its rich knowledge and expertise in the field of entrepreneurship, the CvO forms a focused environment for discovering, preparing, guiding and launching an entrepreneurial career for all its student entrepreneurs. In the CE3 project, the CvO helps entrepreneurial students with their personal development in the entrepreneurial context through the EntreComp methodology.

–Hochschule Dusseldorf is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary curriculum. The emphasis at HSD on education and research is on a strong practical and interdisciplinary approach. The university guarantees that the content of the courses is linked to practical work needs, because they are based on extensive professional experience in business, industry and the research of all their professors and lecturers.

–ZUYD University of Applied Sciences is an ambitious university in the heart of Europe with three core activities: education for students, research for companies and institutions, and training and education for professionals. In addition, ZUYD cooperates intensively with companies, (knowledge) institutions and governments in its education across the borders of disciplines. In the CE3 project, ZUYD therefore provides knowledge, experience and focuses on the commercial aspects of startup teams and ideas for products and services that fit in extremely well with the objective of the project.

The CE3 project is being carried out under the INTERREG Deutschland-Nederland programme and will receive € 1,125,000.00 from the European Union, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate, the MWIDE NRW, the Province of Limburg and the Province of Noord-Brabant.

Contactgegevens:

-TUE: Mark Cox – m.g.d.m.cox@tue.nl
-Fontys: Rick Bonants – r.bonants@fontys.nl
-Zuyd: Steven de Groot – steven.degroot@zuyd.nl
-HSD: Dominik Kretschmar – dominik.kretschmar@hs-duesseldorf.de
-Bable: Jana Helder – jana@bable-smartcities.eu