This year, the Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre “ideaPoint” of Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution (HEI) opened its doors to motivated and curious students. The centre, founded on the initiative of the Faculty of Business, aims to ensure that every student has the opportunity to acquire entrepreneurship and creativity competencies during their studies. In 2023 the results of the European Commission study show that 85 percent of employers say that these skills are necessary for a successful career, and about 60 percent of CEOs list creativity as one of the top three skills needed in the workforce of the future.

The Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre organises trainings, seminars and workshops that help develop creative thinking and entrepreneurial skills. “ideaPoint” promotes student mentoring, where professionals share their experience and knowledge with budding entrepreneurs, and provide support in finding funding and partners.

The head of the centre, Goda Kacilevičiūtė, emphasises not only the development of entrepreneurship and creativity, but also close partnerships with foreign educational institutions and startups, and active cooperation with the business sector. Most importantly, she encourages students to look for non-traditional and innovative solutions, to think differently and to create new opportunities for their professional future.

Goda, tell us about yourself and your journey to “ideaPoint”.

Although my heritage is in a small town in Linkuva, I have spent almost a third of my life abroad. After graduating from political science at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom), I travelled to a large part of India, and taught English in China, so the community spirit of a small town, down-to-earthiness and internationality developed through travel, and the awareness of limitless possibilities were formed and combined in me. Work on the project Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 also left a big mark on my professional path. I realised that I feel the best when I create for the future when I inspire others to create. Later, I started working on projects in the field of innovation, where artists were replaced by entrepreneurs, and festivals were replaced by hackathons. Interestingly, there are not many differences between the art world and the startup world. Both artists and entrepreneurs embody a combination of creativity, vision and tenacity that drives them to innovate and make a difference in their chosen fields. Their journeys are often marked by similar challenges and rewards that reflect their shared commitment to turning ideas into reality.

What prompted the establishment of the Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre?

In the past, many initiatives have been held at Kauno kolegija HEI, which encouraged entrepreneurship, leadership and innovativeness among young people. The Business Centre was active in the Faculty of Business, which included international and national projects, entrepreneurial events, mentoring programmes, outbound familiarisation and educational visits to companies, and educational activities.

The main idea of ​​the Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre, which opened its doors this year, is to raise a generation of creative, critical thinkers, capable of implementing and commercialising their ideas, and to create a safe environment to create and make mistakes. From this desire, “ideaPoint” was created, and designed for creative, energetic students and alumni of Kauno kolegija HEI who want to turn their ideas into actions.

Also, part of the inspiration came from the partners – the close connection with the universities of Tampere and Munich (Tampere University of Applied Sciences, HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences) allowed us to get closer to the impact of higher education on the startup ecosystems of those countries, to understand what steps were taken to achieve high results and see the need for the activity of this centre.

How will this centre promote innovation and creativity among students?

“ideaPoint” will offer students events and activities where creativity will be taught and inspiration will be provided by experts in various fields, tempting students not only with interesting content but also with prizes established by partners. Also, starting from the next academic year, a large part of the newly joined students will study creativity and entrepreneurship as one of the mandatory subjects and together with teams will create products and look for solutions to the challenges of the modern world. We developed the content for this study subject together with experts from Thomas More University of Applied Science. The direction of products developed by students will depend on the chosen study programme. I hope that among these teams there will be those who believe in their idea and decide to develop it further. At this stage, the mentoring programme offered by the centre, help in finding funding, provision of a landmark and comprehensive support will be activated.

How does this centre contribute to the idea of ​​sustainability and social responsibility among students?

One of the “ideaPoint” events that we intend to hold annually will focus on the circular economy. This year, the event “reHack” will take place on 8–10 October and will allow students to test the learned creativity methods in creating a sustainable product. Also, sustainability and social responsibility are horizontal topics that accompany the student at all stages of business creation – our mentors will encourage students to create products that do not conflict with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and they will advise students on the materials, processes, and strategies used for product development. We will strive for students to eventually understand that they create their future and take responsibility for it.

Are there special programmes and activities designed to promote interdisciplinary projects and cooperation between students from different faculties?

All future idea competitions will invite students from different study programmes to participate, forming teams of students with different skills. Other events will also be open to all students of Kauno kolegija HEI (and not only). In them, we will encourage students from different disciplines to engage in active and result-oriented networking – we will invite them to look for common points, and future business partners, and talk about potential new projects.

What are the most important challenges that students may face when starting their business and how ideaPoint will help to overcome them?

Anyone who has developed their own business will assure you that there are and will be many challenges. The biggest thing is not to lose motivation and understand that in order to achieve something, you will need to put in a lot of work, make mistakes, and start over. “ideaPoint” will seek to gather a community where they support each other, share know-how, and overcome challenges together. Also, we will talk about challenges related to team building, intellectual property, starting a company and others.

How can students get involved in the activities of the Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre?

Future specialists can contribute to the centre’s activities by participating in events, and informal activities, and joining the mentoring programme. I invite everyone who has thoughts about the development of a new project to send an email to ideapoint@go.kauko.lt or visit Gedimino st. 41 “ideaPoint” premises. Also, we always welcome proactive, hardworking and responsible students who want to do internships.