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10/23/2019 | Berichte aus den Bereichen | Campus-Meldung

New project between the University of Kassel and Tunisia successfully launched

The Research and Teaching Center for Entrepreneurship (Fludh) is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) funded project Entrepreneurial Universities in Africa, Tunisia. Prof. Dr. Brigitte Halbfas, Executive Director and Professor of Entrepreneurship Education, and Christian Martin, Managing Director of the Center, will support the Université Tunis El Manar and the Université de Sousse over the next 3.5 years in sustainably implementing entrepreneurial thinking and action in teaching and transfer. An institutional change in structures and offers of the participating universities and the transformation towards an "Entrepreneurial University" according to the Kassel model shall be made visible.

Image: Alexander Hartmann.
From September 10-12, professors from the Université Tunis El Manar and the Université de Sousse met at the University of Kassel for a project planning workshop.

During the project, which will run for several years, there will be regular and close exchanges between Kassel, Tunis and Sousse. During this time, entrepreneurial thinking and action will be implemented as a key qualification in teaching and the teaching-learning competence of university teachers will be developed and expanded. For this purpose, a training of trainers in entrepreneurship education will be developed and implemented at . The establishment of idea competitions and a stronger anchoring of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education as a research topic are further goals. In the long term, it is planned to increase knowledge-based start-ups from the Tunisian partner universities in order to create jobs. Within the framework of the project, university start-up consulting and a start-up school will be established or expanded. The cooperation is intended to address a mismatch between higher education and labor market requirements in Tunisia and, in particular, to create more innovation. Tunisia is the only Arab country to have emerged as a democracy from the Arab Spring and is currently struggling with high youth unemployment. The project therefore also aims to support the democratic constitution of the country and to maintain it as a model of success for other countries. The Entrepreneurial Universities in Africa project helps to sustainably carry already existing approaches in greater depth.

At the beginning of September 2019, the University of Kassel received professors from both Tunisian universities, including their presidents. During a project planning workshop, the participants developed a university-wide implementation strategy for the project, defined project goals and developed a time and work plan. During this workshop week, the participants got to know both the University of Kassel with its distinctive start-up culture and the Science Park as a place and concept for emerging innovations and start-ups in the direct environment of research and teaching. In addition to intensive work, cultural exchange was not neglected: The program included activities such as an excursion to the water games in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, including Kneipp baths, and a guided tour of the city museum, which gave the Tunisian delegates an understanding of our region. During these activities and a joint barbecue, contacts and working relationships were deepened and strengthened. The Fludh is now looking forward to a fruitful partnership for the three participating universities and is looking forward to the upcoming project work with excitement and curiosity.

 

Contact:

Laura Behne
Teaching Coordination
Research and Teaching Center for Entrepreneurship
Tel: 0561 804-2398
E-mail: behne@uni-kassel.de