This content is only partially available in English.

The COEUR Project (Business Creativity)

COEUR is an international project bringing together students from different countries and focusing on entrepreneurship.

Learn more about the COEUR project on the following pages and become an entrepreneur of TOMORROW!

Upcoming Workshop

19th COEUR EuroPreneurship Workshop
09. – 16. September 2023
Haagia-Helia University of Applied Science, Helsinki

Check out the brochure for more information.

 

Application

Click here to download the application form.

Deadline: 23.06.2023

COEUR Idea

COEUR stands for "Competence in EuroPreneurship". It represents an initiative of European higher education institutions seeking to innovate entrepreneurial education at European universities.

Its education concepts focus on BUSINESS CREATIVITY and the GENERATION OF CREATIVE IDEAS which finally end up in a concrete VALUE PROPOSITION. Thus the COEUR learning opportunities clearly distinguish from business planning.

By concentrating on the PROCESS OF PROBLEM DEFINITION and IDEA DEVELOPMENT the COEUR learning opportunities contribute to harvest the most important resources on which Europe will have to build in the future: creative ideas!

All COEUR learning opportunities are based on DIVERSITY to stimulate creative thinking with the help of cultural, personal and educational diversity of participants. Focusing on DIVERSITY all learning opportunities are open to participants from any discipline.

Currently, COEUR is offering 2 options to participate:

  • the COEUR Workshop (Option "Business Creativity Workshop") and
  • the COEUR Business Creativity Module (Option "Business Creativity Module")

Options to Participate

Every September 30 to 40 students from different universities in Europe (such as Finland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Scotland) gather together in an isolated location to participate in the COEUR workshop and create NEW IDEAS for Europe.

Based on the principle of DIVERSITY groups of participants are formed, in which they have to create an idea, evaluate its potential and finally provide a concrete value proposition. At the end of the 5-day workshop, the interculturally mixed teams present their value proposition in front of a jury.

The COEUR workshops look back on a tradition of 14 years, having taken us to many different places in Europe, reaching from Lisbon to Helsinki, from Dijon to Wroclaw and in-between. Workshops in Guangzhou (China) and Florianopolis (Brazil) were held to develop an understanding for entrepreneurial cultures around the globe.

Facts about the COEUR Workshop

  • Option in the 5th semester/5 ECTS
  • Only in the winter semester
  • 5 days of workshop at a location abroad
  • Intercultural team work + entrepreneurial education
  • Costs: approx. €350 (full board, excluding flight)

 

19th COEUR EuroPreneurship Workshop
09.09. – 16. September 2023
Haagia-Helia University of Applied Science, Helsinki

Check out the brochure for more information.

 

COEUR Business Creativity Module (BCM) is the second learning opportunity students can choose. In contrast to the COEUR Workshop, BMC runs during the regular semester time. Based on the COEUR principles groups of international students are formed to achieve diversity.

The group members communicate online and hence are working in VIRTUAL TEAMS. Within these teams a value proposition has to be created and finally presented in front of a jury (entrepreneurs, investors, etc.) – all based on an online communication system.

Students choosing this alternative not only learn about business creativity, but also practice virtual team work, which tends to become more important in the future.

Facts about BCM

  • Option in the 5th semester/5 ECTS
  • Only in the summer semester
  • During the whole semester
  • Intercultural and virtual team work + entrepreneurial education

 

  • Eickhoff, M./Trigo, V./Turnbull, A./Dyczkowski, T. (2014): COEUR: Developing Business Creativity and Entrepreneurship in European University Networks, in: Journal Advances in Higher Education, Volume 6, Issue 1/2014, pp. 76-101.
  • Eickhoff, M. (2014): Zehn Jahre COEUR - A European Dream, in: Jahrbuch 2013/14 des Fachbereichs Wirtschafts der Fachhochschule Mainz, Mainz 2014.
  • Eickhoff, M./Turbull, A.: Business Creativity: A New Educational Challenge for European Students. Presentation at the XV International Scientific Conference: Human Capital and Investment in Education, Prague, September 2012.
  • Eickhoff, M./Dyczkowski, T. (2012): Creative in Diversity: Developing Entrepreneurial Talents in European University Networks - Experiences from an Intercultural, (Blended-) Team-learning Opportunity. In preparation (Abstract accepted) for the 17th Nordic Conference on Small Business Research, Helsinki, May 2012.
  • Eickhoff, M./Turnbull, A. (2011): All Business is Glocal: The Importance of a Regional Entrepreneurship Culture. Experiences from the COEUR-Project - Competence in EuroPreneurship. Paper presented to the conference "Entrepreneurship and new venture creation - International models and benchmarks" at the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore (India), December 9, 2011.   
  • Turnbull, A./Eickhoff, M. (2011): Business Creativity - Innovating European Entrepreneurship Education.Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Special Issue: Entrepreneurial Marketing: Volume 24, Issue 1/2011, pp. 139-150.
  • Kardasz, A./Dyczkowski, T. (2009): Discovering the Entrepreneurial Potential in Differences between Europe and China. Paper presented at the 3rd Polish-Chinese-German serial conference in Opole, Poland on October 14-16, 2009.
  • Eickhoff, M./Müller, S. (2008): The ‘COEUR’ - University Network: Experiences with Joint Learning Opportunities in European Entrepreneurship Education. CIDD Papers on International Business Education, No (2) Paris.
  • Eickhoff, M. / Müller, S. (2008): The Business Creativity Module (BCM): Pilot Run of a Joint European Course educating Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation, paper for the G-Forum 2008, 6th-7th November 2008, Dortmund.

 

Recap: COEUR Workshop 2022

"Nothing is as constant as change" (Heraclitus of Ephesus, 535-475 BC). Complex and sometimes unexpected changes require the process of rethinking. Urbanization is not a new trend, but circumstances for urban living have changed due to various factors. Not only various lockdowns and mandatory home office regulations that we had to face due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the working and living environment. The radical increase in resource prices and the environmental problems caused by climate change are now also omnipresent and call for a rethink and development of innovative ideas.

"URBAN LIVING" AS THE GUIDING THEME OF THE 18TH COEUR WORKSHOP
Business as usual cannot and will not create sustainable solutions for the "new" urban living space. It is clear that new approaches to urban living are needed to successfully respond to the changes. The COEUR workshop took up this challenge following the motto: Even the longest journey starts with a small first step! To take that first step, COEUR workshop placed a strong focus on creativity, diversity, as well as student responsibility. 
So what was the task of COEUR participants? To develop entrepreneurial ideas that responsibly solve relevant individual and societal challenges in the urban environment.

Awards

  • Mainz (Germany) 2008: 2nd 'Europapreis' of the Federal State Rhineland Palatinate for learning opportunities fostering intercultural communication amongst students, awarded on the 6th of May 2008, City Hall, Mainz
  • Riga (Latvia) 2006: Best Paper Award for the 'Most Creative Effort', paper presented at the 6th International Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF), Riga, 31.8.- 2.9.2006

The COEUR University Network

RGU - Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Scotland

Wroclaw University of Economics, Wrowclaw, Poland

HAAGA-HELIA UAS, Helsinki, Finland

Estonian Business School, Tallinn, Estonia

Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Mainz, Germany

Downloads