Representatives of projects selected for funding as a part of the EIT HEI Initiative calls were invited to Prague to take part in the 2023 IVAP workshop lasting from May 31 to June 1, 2023. This year’s IVAP Workshop was primarily aimed to support consortia which have succeeded in the third call of the EIT HEI Initiative. At the same time, the projects supported in previous calls were also given chance to be presented and their implementation has already taken place.
Our university was represented by prof. RNDr. Gabriel Semanišin, PhD., Vice-rector for informatisation and quality management, who is the leader of the InnoChange. The project was selected for funding in a pilot call and is being implemented from July 2021 to the end of June 2023. It brought several activities in the field of education of students and academic and non-academic staff, which are intended to stimulate changes and build capacities towards innovative universities with an entrepreneurial mindset. UPJŠ in Košice is the only university in Slovakia implementing the project supported by the EIT HEI Initiative.
During the workshops, discussions were held on modifying roles of the universities and education in a dynamically changing society and the growing responsibility of universities in creating local innovation ecosystems. Alongside the provision of quality education and the implementation of research, universities face a new challenge that requires transforming universities and building new capacities. The aim of the EIT HEI Initiative and other Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) is to support this transformation.
