Strategic Workshop "Building an Innovation Culture within Universities"

An strategic workshop on “Building an Innovation Culture within Universities” was held in Odessa, Ukraine, on 6-8 September as part of the activities of the UNI4INNO project. With an attendance of more than 50 people, the workshop included the presence of EU and Ukrainian UNI4INNO partner institutions, staff and students from ONU and representatives from the National Tempus Office in the Ukraine. The event aimed at identifying and stimulating the strategic factors and set strategic frameworks for successfully managing the change of culture and mindset, crucial to the successful implementation of institutional innovation policies.

After a warm welcome by Prof. Igor Koval, Rector of Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University, a report on ONU’s Innovation Potential was presented by the Vice-Rector for Science, Technologies and Introduction of Development, Prof. Vladimir Ivanitsa. The series of presentations by EU trainers included topics on the value of research, establishment of a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, creation of strategies for research cooperation, knowledge transfer and intellectual property management. Workshop attendants actively participated in practical exercises and small team self-assessment exercises. Each Ukrainian partner University drew and presented a map of their local innovation environment, including all internal and external stakeholders. 
The event included a consortium assembly where a report on the status of running activities and a description of upcoming tasks were presented. Additionally, several individual meetings of the project partners with representatives from the Ukrainian National Tempus Office and with the UNI4INNO project coordinator were held.