This project will develop a project-based learning approach and an entrepreneurial spirit in students, foster interactions between stakeholders in Food and Drink (referred to from here on as Food) innovation and guide the development of innovative projects.
The FOODLAB project will enable the setting up of a European Foodbusiness Transfer Laboratory supported by a shared web-platform centralizing ad hoc learning and training contents/tools/guidelines to create/help future entrepreneurs, with dedicated modules to promote interactions with food companies, technical centers or business angels (Innofood database and forum). The scope of dissemination in this project is wide-reaching considering the implication of national Food federations and the support of the European Technology Platform Food for Life.
Main benefits for European society are: creation of durable bridges between academia and food business stakeholders, development of entrepreneurial skills through guided self-learning, increasing student employability by SMEs, and improvement of innovation transfer to business in a sector in search of competitiveness enhancement. Read more…

Benefit for users

Students& teachers: an open license to universities will allow the free access to all the educational contents.
Entrepreneurs/startups: contents and data will be made available to develop entrepreneurship and help young people to overcome their concerns about starting a company in the food sector.
SMEs/industrials: as lifelong learning is one of our aims within the FOODLAB project, industrials will be able to access to most of the content developed through licensing or paying services.

The project will implement the following actions:

• Industrial needs centralisation & Networking
• Development of new educational content, methodologies, and organization
• Development of shared web-platform and e-tools
• Creation of European Foodbusiness Transfer Laboratory

FOODLAB - Foodbusiness network database

An Innofood database containing food industry association data, technology park data, existing food clusters, profile of companies interested in the food innovation, keywords, topics, projects and food innovation developed, including all ECOTROPHELIA products made since the start of the competition will be implemented and published on the project web platform. This tool will be useful because will allow a mapping of competences, needs, previous and ongoing innovating projects in order to facilitate contacts between actors in HEI, industry and broader socio-economic actors.

 Click here to send an email and express your interest in the candidature of your organisation, innovation, company, etc. in the forthcoming Innofood database.

  Forthcoming...

"Soon a survey will be launched in order to identify the expertise and competences necessary within the European Foodbusinness Transfer Laboratory (EFTL) for successful innovation transfer! Students, teachers and SMEs will be called to express their view!"

Special EXPO 2015

F OODLAB project at the Milan EXPO: a great experience.

The Universal Exhibition Milan 2015 takes place from May 1st to October 31st 2015 on the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". On Thursday 2nd July 2015, on the Milan EXPO- Europe Pavilion, a conference has been organized on the theme 'Innovation as part of educating the future workforce of the food and drink industry' to promote the benefits of the Ecotrophelia competition and the FOODLAB project.

Internal page

The FOODLAB project is developing a new learning and teaching methodology and the related tools to improve the transversal competences of students and foster entrepreneurship.
In order to tackle these issues, the consortium is composed of 11 partners from 4 different countries (France, Hungary, Italy and Spain). The objective of this consortium is to share knowledge covering all research, development and production activities towards the delivery of new courses and the creation of the European FoodBusiness Transfer Laboratory, supported by a web-platform.

The FOODLAB project is dedicated to the development of a new learning and teaching methodology and the related tools to improve the transversal competences of students and develop entrepreneurship. In order to tackle these issues, the consortium is composed of 11 partners from 4 different countries (France, Hungary, Italy and Spain). The objective of this consortium is to share knowledge covering all research, development and production activities towards the delivery of new courses. The European FoodBusiness Transfer Laboratory, supported by a web-platform, will allow fostering interactions between students and stakeholders in food innovation to improve entrepreneurship in this sector.
The FOODLAB project fits with several specific objectives:

• To improve transnational cooperation between education, training providers and other stakeholders: a shared web-platform will be developed allowing for the creation of a common work area and for centralizing dedicated learning and training tools developed during the project. Interactions fostered between reputed HEI and companies will profit the whole European food sector by creating value and maintaining or creating employment;

•  To strengthen entrepreneurship: theoretical and practical training courses will be proposed both to students and to company staff in order to allow cross-fertilization of ideas and experiences. With the help and advice of professionals, in close contact with experts in different fields (food design, regulations, intellectual property rights, funding, etc.) students and entrepreneurs will receive support for developing an innovative project from  concept definition to the elaboration of proper and convincing business plans

• To increase the international dimension of education and training: every partner involved in education and training in this project will bring their own competences and experience to create a pan-European structure aiming at fostering innovation;

• To disseminate best practices: the project will notably result in a white book addressing this question in Europe.

Moreover the benefits of this multinational initiative will be spread via Universities participating in ECOTROPHELIA and notably through the networks of several European food federations gathered together in the European Economic Interest Group SPES. This will be helpful to disseminate the results of the FOODLAB project within the food/drink sector and to other sectors, as this initiative can lay out the bases of a new approach to teaching and learning innovation.
Thus through the European Foodbusiness Transfer Laboratory the FOODLAB project will allow important European stakeholders in the food sector to establish deep and reliable professional ties that will bridge the gap between academia and industry within the next decades.


Benefit for users

Students & teachers: an open license to universities will allow the free access to all the educational contents;

Entrepreneurs/startups: contents and data will be made available to develop entrepreneurship and help young people to overcome their concerns about starting a company in the food sector;

SMEs/industrials: as lifelong learning is one of our aims within the FOODLAB project, industrials will be able to access to most of the content developed through licensing or paying services.

Industrial needs centralisation & Networking

The strategic goals of this activity are, on one hand, the identification and centralisation of current innovation needs in food companies, and, on the other hand, the establishment of contact between interested companies and students of ECOTROPHELIA network.

Lead partner SPES GEIE: “ The main objective is to act as a determinant bridge between companies and universities”.

Development of new educational content, methodologies, and organization

The idea under this activity is to concentrate on innovation projects carried out by students with the support of companies, professors, external experts, technicians as well as many other stakeholders for bridging academic and food-business worlds. An European Foodbusiness Transfer Laboratory will be created in order to allow the implementation and improvement of the project-based guided self-learning dynamic, a pedagogical approach which proves to be very efficient for projects like ECOTROPHELIA.

Lead partner ISARA: “The main objective is to increase the added value of the HEI dedicated to food innovation and of companies which will be created or which will make use of students’ results”.

Development of shared web-platform and e-tools
The main goal is to develop A specific web-platform for European Food Innovation network (including a reliable intranet for learning contents, network database), an e-learning tools and an evaluation e-forms for the feed-back of people.
Lead partner CCIV: “the specific informatics tools and virtual work-space will be determinant for the success of the project and the sustainability of the initiative”.

Creation of European Foodbusiness Transfer Laboratory

The overall objective is to analyse and select the best methods for transfer innovative projects in business in order to facilitate entrepreneurship either by high-qualified students and SMEs in food sector.

Lead partner UCSC: “Investment in education and training is essential to boost growth and competitiveness. In particolar, the development of entrepreneurial skills will not only contribute to new business creation but also to the employability of young people.

Newsletter

October

European FoodBusiness Transfer Laboratory for stimulating entrepreneurial skills, for fostering innovation and for business creation in the Food Sector / FOODLAB