Insights

Launching O2LAB Rotterdam together with Hogeschool Rotterdam!

24 February 2021

Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship is proud to announce, together with Hogeschool Rotterdam, the launch of the project O2LAB Rotterdam – the hub for entrepreneurial education in the city of Rotterdam powered by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RvO). The mission of O2LAB Rotterdam is to build up on existing knowledge and cooperation to increase the impact of education and further develop the entrepreneurial skills of students of all levels (MBO, HBO & WO) and disciplines.  

On March 18 at 2:30 pm, we are hosting the kick-off event of O2LAB Rotterdam for teachers who are passionate or want to learn more about entrepreneurial education as well as the study coordinators of their institutions who want to broaden the spectrum of the programmes they offer. Places are limited, so make sure you sign up soon!

Entrepreneurial education in Rotterdam 

Rotterdam is an entrepreneurial city. This is true for the many successful enterprises that contribute to the economic growth of the city, but also for the entire communityThe higher education institutions in Rotterdam share this vision too and understand the need for stimulating entrepreneurial skills in the programmes they offer to their students. Teaching entrepreneurial education means securing a better future for students and their careers as well as for our society overall. 

Entrepreneurial education is not confined to business-related studies and includes all education programmes (alpha, beta, and gamma) at all levels (MBO, HBO & WO). In fact, it is much more than just encouraging students to start their own business – it concerns entrepreneurship in a broader sense; it is a learning process that has the following goals: 

  • Innovative thinking: Developing independence and responsibility in acting on ideas and opportunities to create value; and 
  • Value Creation: Developing the ability to generate value in a variety of contexts, from the simple and predictable to the complex and constantly changing. 

Rotterdam boasts plenty of knowledge in this regard, thanks to its top education institutions, innovative SMEs, and ambitious students, but the cooperation among the latter is often too fragmented. The lines between the different institutions are there, but they can be amplified and centralised. Individual teachers have often expressed the need to find each other to offer larger and diverse education to their students and to start collaborations.  

For this reason, together with the Start-up Academy and the RDM Centre of Expertise of Hogeschool Rotterdam, we took the initiative to launch O2LAB Rotterdam and invite all education institutions in Rotterdam to join us on this new project.  

O2LAB Rotterdam 

O2LAB Rotterdam fosters and strengthens entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education in Rotterdam. The project intensifies cooperation within and between educational institutions and SMEs from the Rotterdam region and to learn with and from each other. It organises activities for teachers as well as for students with a particular focus on two relevant topics: 

  • Innovating with impact: Entrepreneurial skills are the most important driver for social transitions. Solving complex social problems (such as SDGs, Covid-19 and economic recessions) requires a multidisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach that O2LAB-Hub Rotterdam wants to boost;
  • Female entrepreneurship: Research shows that female entrepreneurs remain a minority (ca. 10%) among the founders of successful startups and scaleups. Why is this number lagging behindMore attention should be devoted to this problem, bringing more female role models in the spotlight and strengthening the network of ambitious women in Rotterdam, including students, entrepreneurs, researchers and teachers.  

What’s next? 

During the kick-off on the 18th of March, the O2LAB Rotterdam activities for 2021-2022 will be announced. Make sure to keep an eye on the O2LAB Rotterdam website to stay up to date with the project! If you have any question, feel free to reach out at info@o2labrotterdam.nl 

We’re looking forward to fostering entrepreneurial education in Rotterdam together! 

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