From 28 – 30 November the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic was host to the SME Assembly, which is the most significant event for Europe’s SMEs and entrepreneurs and also policy making. During this event the Grand Finale of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards also holds a coveted spot. After winning the national rounds WaterCampus was shortlisted out of 186 initiatives to partake in this ceremony. The jury members were very impressed with the WaterCampus demonstrating innovation, creativity and passion for supporting entrepreneurship.
Ronald Wielinga, Manager Entrepreneurship WaterCampus: ‘Firstly I would like to congratulate Energy Cooperative WEnCoop by the Halkidiki Chamber and the Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs for their amazing initiative.
For us as WaterCampus to have come so far, winning the national preliminaries, all the way to the finals here in Prague, and being shortlisted is amazing in itself! As there are many great proposals and in the end this makes for some though competition.’
The award consisted of multiple (six) categories where WaterCampus was nominated in the supporting the sustainable transition. The other finalist was the German ScaleUp4Sustainability (S4S).
WaterCampus ecosystem
On the second day of the three day event the Supporting the Sustainable Transition EEPA session drew a large crowd. Thomas Cooney from the TU Dublin led the session with a big focus on entrepreneurship, and what is needed to succeed. Klaus Fichter and Lina Tsaltampasi together with WaterCampus Ronald Wielinga held an interesting panel discussion about pioneering. As all represented unique ideas brought to life. The main conclusions of the session were, that you must have an enthusiastic team, allocate the right resources and seize opportunities.
Ronald also spoke about how and why the WaterCampus came to be, from its early inception until now. Especially why it is in the city of Leeuwarden in the province of Fryslân which doesn’t have a university. Also how the ecosystem drives innovation and entrepreneurship.
As an event the SME Assembly 2022 was packed with educational workshops, masterclasses, webinars, networking opportunities, and inspiring presentations by key European figures in entrepreneurship and innovation. Numerous awards were presented during the three-day-long event. It also provided ample opportunities to (re)connect with peers.
