INSPIRE, CREATE & ELEVATE: online course on interdisciplinary entrepreneurship

Friday, September 4, 2026 - 14:01

Innovation increasingly depends on collaboration across disciplines and the ability to transform knowledge into solutions with societal and economic impact. Addressing complex challenges requires professionals capable of combining scientific knowledge, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

The INSPIRE, CREATE & ELEVATE course has been developed to bring together participants from different academic and professional backgrounds, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration across Food Biotechnology, Biomedicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Creative Industries. Through expert-led sessions, mentoring, and teamwork, participants will develop innovative solutions to a real-world challenge while strengthening their entrepreneurial mindset and innovation skills.

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Objectives

Provide participants with an introduction to four complementary knowledge areas: Food Biotechnology, Biomedicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Creative Industries.
Foster interdisciplinary collaboration through teamwork on a real-world challenge.

Introduce participants to technology and knowledge transfer methodologies, entrepreneurship tools, and innovation approaches for bringing technological solutions to the market.

The main objective of the course is to provide participants with the knowledge, tools, and entrepreneurial competences required to collaboratively develop innovative solutions for real-world challenges.

Recipients

This international and multidisciplinary course is designed for students, researchers, academic and non-academic staff, and professionals from any disciplinary background interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is recommended.

Programme

The programme will be delivered online, in English, from 2 October to 6 November, with a Final Pitch session to be held on 6 November. Sessions take place on Fridays, starting at 09:00 CET. The programme includes 13.5 hours of common sessions, 4 hours of Core Topic sessions, and 2.5 hours of the final pitch session, online. Each participant must select two of the four Core Topics (2 hours each), corresponding to a total of 4 hours of specialised training.

Common branch (16 h)

Introduction (1h)
Case challenges (0.5h)
Technology Transfer (1h)
Entrepreneurial Competences and Tools (6.5h)
Mentoring and pitch preparation (4.5h)
Final Pitch Session (2.5h)

Specialized branch (4 h)*

Option 1: Food Biotechnology (2h)

Bioeconomy as an opportunity for sustainable entrepreneurship
Valorization of agrifood waste into high-value products
Practical cases and development of competitive business solutions

Option 2: Artificial Intelligence (2h)

Introduction to key AI concepts
Effective prompting techniques with the SWETI method

Option 3: Biomedicine (2h)

Health economics and innovation value
AI and creative approaches in biomedical solutions
Key challenges in scaling and regulating health technologies
Startup case studies in health and medtech

Option 4: Creative Industries (2h)

Potential of emerging technologies
Innovation through hands-on experimentation
Digital skills and strategies for a strong online presence
Ethical and inclusive use of digital innovation

*Students must select two different specialized branch from the four available options, for a total of 4 hours.

Coordination and Trainers

João Cortez, Director of the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Margarita Oja da Silva, PhD Researcher on AI in Startup Teams & Ecosystems at Digital+Sustainable Innovation Lab (DSIL) at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics

Luís Teixeira, Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Salvatore Dore, Head of Technology Transfer and Investments Office at Università degli Studi di Trieste

Christen Eschricht Holbæk, Startup advisor at The Kitchen, Aarhus Universitet

Gabriella Antezza, Training and Project Manager of Materahub

Giorgia Spigno, Professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy

Leonor Bacelar Nicolau, Professor at Católica Medical School

Tuition fee: The course is offered free of charge, with no tuition fees for participants. The INSPIRE, CREATE & ELEVATE course is financially supported by the EIT HEI Initiative – Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education, funded by the European Union.

Assessment

The participants will be evaluated individually based on an Individual Case Challenge Report and their participation in the final group presentation and discussion. The Individual Case Challenge Report will consist of a short written analysis of the Case Challenge. The final grade will be calculated as follows: i) Individual Case Challenge Report (40%); ii) participation in the final group presentation and discussion (60%).