Become a Spanning Boundaries Agent
Join Europe’s first dedicated training programme for individuals working to break down the barriers between academia and industry
March-June 2021 (Cohort One) Online
About the programme
Spanning Boundaries is a FREE 4-month online training programme, organised in two cohorts in 2021-2022.
The dynamic programme combines international universal sessions (EU masterclasses, workshops, seminars and fireside chats), as well as national sessions, where you reflect your process together with participants from your own country.
COHORT ONE runs from March to June 2021 and COHORT TWO runs from September 2021 to January 2022.
Registration deadline: 06 March 2021
*The participation in the programme is free of charge
*The programme will be carried out in English
How you benefit
Access to Europe’s leading experts and content on university-business cooperation
Engage in peer-learning with national and international participants
Discover tools and methods to identify and build new partnerships
Find matchmaking, joint-projects and funding opportunities
The option to accelerate your development through your own university-business cooperation project (personal application project | PAP)
Who should participate
Whether you are newcomer to the topic of university-business cooperation (UBC), or a veteran of previous initiatives, you will meet interesting people, peer-learn with others, learn about case examples, and launch new activities in your institutions with our help.
*Undergraduate students are not eligible to participate
Two ways to participate in Cohort One
1. 10X Boundary Spanning Certificate Pathway
- Attend compulsory modules (18 hours)
- Complete mentoring (4 hours)
- Complete Personal Application Projects*
1. 10X Accredited Boundary Spanning Agent Pathway
- Attend compulsory modules (18 hours)
- Complete mentoring (4 hours)
- Complete Personal Application Projects*
- Submit assignments
Participation Pathway | Accreditation Pathway | |
---|---|---|
Attendance at compulsory sessions | Yes | Yes |
Completing a Personal Application Project | Yes | Yes |
Participation in mentoring sessions | Yes | Yes |
Participation in hackathon | No | Yes |
Participation in staff exchange | No | Yes |
Submission of assignments for each module | No | Yes |
Recognition of participation | Certificate of recognition | An accreditation from UIIN |
* PAPs (personal application projects) are central to the Spanning Boundaries Educational Framework, and are required for all participants who wish to receive certification. In the Spring Pilot of the programme, all participants will be required to complete a PAP.
For participants, the total number of hours scheduled in the Spanning Boundaries programme is about 10 hours (including presence during the PAP presentations of other participants). This does not include time required to advance projects outside of scheduled activities.
Each participant will be guided through the process of completing a PAP. Throughout the Programme, each participant will provide details about their PAP, which they will present in the final month of the Programme.
PAP example
Profile
Director of Businesses Incubator and Technology Transfer Center for a University
Specific Objectives
- Licensing of at least 3 university technologies to the industry
- Creating 1 or 2 university start-ups or spin-offs using their own patented technologies
Programme timeline

Programme outline
Programme commences: 11 March 2021
Pre-programme: For those new to the topic of spanning boundaries through university-business-cooperation (UBC), we offer an introduction to the basics: Why it is relevant, what it includes and what kind of possibilities it offers?
Month 1 (March): Scanning the environment and identifying opportunities: topics for master classes, workshops and fireside chats
- Basis of UBC and UBC ecosystem,
- Entrepreneurial skills of the boundary-spanning agent,
- The partnership approach,
- How to scan your environment,
- Aligning your interests from the start
Month 2 & 3 (April-May): Initiating, Implementing and Managing UBC: topics for master classes, workshops and fireside chats
- Evaluate knowledge, opportunities & markets
- How to acquire resources for UBC
- How to initiate partnerships
- Building a vision for cooperation
Month 4 (June): Improving and building the foundation for future success: topics for master classes, workshops and fireside chats
- Championing a UBC culture
- How to pitch your initiative
- Measuring UBC outputs, outcomes and impact
Final event (September): Presentation of Personal Application Projects by the participants at the final Gala Pitch Event, open to all.
Throughout the 4 month programme, we will undertake workshops for developing participants’ Personal Application Projects, run a Hackathon and offer mentoring sessions. We will finalise the programme with the Final Gala Pitch event in September 2021, where the programme’s participants will be able to showcase their Personal Application Projects.
NB the full programme will be available in the upcoming weeks
Our experts and coaches
Stay tuned for the updates!
Register now!
*The participation in the programme is free of charge
Organisers and national contact points
The Spanning Boundaries program unites ten partners from higher education institutes, businesses and networks from eight countries in Europe