On 27–28 November 2025, the international workshop “University-based Entrepreneurship: Determinants, Outcomes, and Impact” was held at the Department of Management Engineering of the University of Bergamo. The event marked the conclusion of the national PRIN 2022 IEES – Institutions, Education and Entrepreneurship Studies project, funded under the PNRR – NextGenerationEU initiative to strengthen Italian scientific research.
The IEES project investigated the role of universities in entrepreneurial processes from an innovative perspective, examining the interactions between institutions, education, and business creation, while providing new evidence on the economic and social impact of academic activities. Coordinated by the University of Bergamo with Tommaso Minola as Principal Investigator, the project involved a national research team including Luca Grilli from the Politecnico di Milano, Alessandra Colombelli from the Politecnico di Torino, and Riccardo Fini from the University of Bologna, integrating complementary expertise in entrepreneurship, innovation, and university ecosystems.
The two-day workshop brought together Italian and international scholars to discuss the latest research developments in university entrepreneurship, promoting idea exchange, networking, and the creation of scientific collaborations on the strategic role of universities in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Key contributions included keynote speeches by Einar Rasmussen from Nord University and University of Nottingham on student ventures as a new organizational form within entrepreneurial ecosystems, and Anita Van Gils from Maastricht University, who presented the dynamics of her university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Organized into five thematic sessions, the debate explored the main dimensions of academic entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship education and its impact on students’ learning paths; entrepreneurship in context, focusing on institutional and territorial factors; the relationship between universities, innovation, and technology transfer; and the social dimensions of entrepreneurship, including inclusion, identity, and well-being.