1. www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu FITT Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer Entrepreneurship know-how – Online Academy

2. 2 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository What?  The Technoport Academy is an online training and education platform developed to give access to entrepreneurs to courses and media content specifically created following pedagogical patterns  Purposes: Keep in-house the knowledge brought by external experts and lecturers Document success stories and business cases to build up a repository of internal generated knowledge, i.e. extract and keep useful knowledge Provide current and future entrepreneurs with a recurring and accessible source of information presented in a pedagogical fashion  Goal: Assist entrepreneurs in acquiring business competences Provide coaches at Technoport with a powerful and helpful tool to support their coaching activity

3. 3 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Online, interactive, multimedia-based, knowledge repository External users In-house knowledge Success stories Case studies Technoport Academy Content Acquisition And Generation Archive eLearning Platform Internal users Lecturers Experts METHODOLOGY ! Online Multimedia Interactive

4. 4 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Platform for training and coaching  Training: different courses or modules created following pedagogical patterns A generic training offered free to outside audience to attract new entrepreneurs A specific and scalable training, structured in modules, offered to companies hosted at Technoport that could be easily developed and used depending on identified needs (individually or in groups)  Coaching The academy will try to develop a web platform to formalize and reap maximum business and tacit knowledge existing within the Technoport network of entrepreneurs (case studies, best practices, "how to" and practical guides, etc..)

5. 5 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Different modules  Each module contains one to several videos that describe a business case or situation that affected a company  Modules give insights on how the situation was addressed, what was the impact, etc… in a way that entrepreneurs (users) can easily translate to their own particular situation.  Criteria: Avoid static interviews Short videos addressing one specific issue Usage of animated graphics to illustrate certain abstract concepts Message delivered must also serve to: ­ Promote the work of Technoport ­ Promote the companies at Technoport

6. 6 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Different modules  Modules: Module I: Market Assessment and Validation Module II: Opportunity Analysis Module III: Communications & Marketing strategy Module IV: Sales Module V: Business Model and Strategy Module VI: Finance & Accounting Module VII: Human resources Module VIII: Legal  Structure of the modules: Opening Credits with Technoport Logo and message related to the success story (case to be presented) (10-15 seconds max) Business case description Description of Technoport’s contribution in the development of the company Closing Credits

7. 7 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Pro’s & Cons MARKETING  One time upfront production costs (reusing the same content unlimited times)  Savings on recurring cost of workshops.  New business models can be developed OPERATIONAL  Provides a tool for coaches (improved performance)  Expands range of services offered by Technoport  It is available 24/7 and from remote sites ECONOMIC  Marketable: promotional tool for partners, investors, press, educators and entrepreneurs  Increases awareness of Technoport brand and its services among potential clients  Increases prestige of Technoport within networks and other incubators by developing innovative tools PRO’S CON’S  Some topics are not well suited to be delivered under an eLearning format  There is no enforcement mechanism implemented to make entrepreneurs follow the trainings  User acceptance level can be unsatisfying. There is the risk the tool is not used  We might be too attached to the provider. The platform and content is being developed by a unique company. There might arise problems if we chose to change provider (compatibility, compatibility, maintenance)  Respect of IP rights of trainers needs to be taken in account

8. 8 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Why ?  Why was it established? Companies leave the incubator without leaving their heritage ­ During their time at Technoport companies go through different phases and face problems that remain undocumented ­ Once companies leave the incubator there’s no way of recovering that experienced gained and profit from it The academy allows capturing the knowledge and making it available for further reutilization ­ Time (money) invested in supporting a company can be recovered (partially) in the form of knowledge extraction. Entrepreneurs are more receptive to learnings that come from other entrepreneurs ­ By using entrepreneurs to build content the message delivered will be more powerful eLearning provides a cost-efficient solution for some recurring trainings that can be easily offered that way

9. 9 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Why ?  Impact Further recognition of the Technoport brand Effective marketing tool to attract new tenants to the incubator Can be integrated with activities carried out by partners (i.e. Microsoft use of the platform for their Bootcamp program aimed to help entrepreneurs kicking off their startups)

10. 10 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Outcome  To be completed in next update of the document after Platform deployment (Second quarter 2010)

11. 11 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Outcome  Plans for the future? Empower Technoport’s online services (website, forum, document and contact exchange, community site, etc) Build a gathering point for entrepreneurship in Luxembourg Added services to Technoport Academy (under review)

12. 12 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Lessons Learned  Collaboration from entrepreneurs to produce the material is cornerstone. From this point of view, entrepreneurs had little incentives to participate in the project and dedicate time  Acting skills cannot be assumed. There is needed a good direction of the filming process to avoid a unnatural or flat speech.  External guest speakers might not be willing to collaborate due to copyright issues or reluctance to have their master sessions recorded.

13. 13 | 05.02.2010 Entrepreneurship Know-how Repository Suggested readings Codebook links: Business_model Business_plan Spin_out Exploitation