GPS Winter School kicks off at UC
The Programme Management and Funding Systems for Innovation and Smart Specialisation course uses innovative learning methods such as team-based learning and job shadowing.
The Winter School GPS course – Programme Management and Funding Systems for Innovation and Smart Specialisation aims to raise participants' awareness of the importance of open innovation and the value of managing joint R&D and innovation programmes and projects. Organised by the University of Coimbra (UC), the course "aims to promote smart specialisation strategies and foster initiatives with high societal impact," explains the UC Pro-Rector for Entrepreneurship, Gabriela Fernandes.
Using innovative strategies such as team-based learning and job shadowing, the course brings together "different actors in the funding ecosystem" to collaborate and share ideas and knowledge. The initiative includes two periods of job shadowing, allowing participants to observe processes in a real-world setting. Gabriela Fernandes also highlights a visit to the European Commission, in Brussels, for a better understanding of how funding mechanisms work.
Helena Mendes, UC Deputy Administrator, emphasised the course's importance in providing "qualified support" in funding management, a particularly successful process.
At the first session, Artur Santoalla, from the National Innovation Agency, described the programme as "extremely important" and emphasised that the training of stakeholders is crucial for the effective implementation of smart specialisation strategies.
The course will be delivered in b-learning mode, with weekly five-hour sessions over nine weeks.