Under the EIT HEI initiative, as a key objective of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the “InterHEI” project coordinated by the Faculty of Management of the University of Warsaw (holder of three prestigious accreditations: EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA – “Triple Crown”), lead by Mansour Esmaeil Zaei (project manager: Piotr Nawrocki), has been granted funding of 1.2 million euros to increase innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education by building capacity across higher education institutions (HEIs) and young businesses in the area of food and health. 

The overarching objective of the “InterHEI” project is to unlock the potential of HEI consortium members for innovation and entrepreneurship and to build capacity, enabling them to capitalise on their research infrastructure capacities and opportunities, leverage HEI accumulated scientific knowledge for co-creation with stakeholders, prepare students for entrepreneurial thinking and actions, and establish effective dialogue with industry and government. This area has been assessed as a key strength of the consortium. It is essential for businesses and government institutions as it will strengthen the innovation ecosystems in respective sectors, increase the number of research-based spin-offs and start-ups relevant to the contemporary food and health systems, diversifies HEI revenue streams, create jobs, increase the success rates of new product launches, and contribute to Smart Specialization Strategies and mission-oriented Research & Innovation Policies implementation.

To achieve its goals, the “InterHEI” project relies on an integrated set of initiatives, namely:

1. Research Infrastructure Commercialisation Academy.
2. New Product Development Labs.
3. Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
4. Insight Academy.

Through building capacity, designed and tailored to developing innovation and enterprise, these initiatives support the development of academic and non-academic staff and students within HEIs across the consortium, EIT HEI initiative, and the selected EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and society.

The “InterHEI” consortium comprises 8 full partners and 4 associated partners from Poland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Serbia, and Slovakia.

“InterHEI” consortium full partners: University of Warsaw (consortium leader, Poland), Lodz University of Technology (Poland), Loyola University (Spain), Marmara University (Turkey), Institute of Food Technology (Serbia), Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), Perrotis College (Greece) and Future Food Institute (Italy).

“InterHEI” consortium associated partners: Medical University of Lodz (Poland), the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia), the University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland) and Bionanopark (Poland).