Innovation Corpus
ERIK BOER:
A 5000 EUROS GRANT FOR THE BEST TEAM IN THE END OF TIRANA INC. BY RUDINA HOXHA
50
JP TRAIBLAZING MAGAZINE
tarting a Student Incubator in Albania with multiple universities was always top of mind for me. That’s how Erik Boer starts the exclusive interview with TRAILBLAZING MAGAZINE following Tirana Inc. project. When the invitation came to him from Tirana to contribute in this regard, he did not think twice. “For me personally, it is amazing to see, how we could build this Tirana Inc. project despite of the pandemic obstacles. I am impressed with all the university leaders and professors and EU for Innovation that took the time and created the energy to make this happen,” he said in this interview. According to Boer, Tirana Inc. Is something new among different initiatives that are happening in Albania. “It puts the focus to the students, their entrepreneurial skills, creativity, and their ambition. Tirana Inc. selects 10 teams to support and mentor in their entrepreneurial journey,” he said. Erik Boer is the founder of Venture Labs and director of Amsterdam Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE Incubator). ACE is an Amsterdam based incubator located at Amsterdam Science Park Campus at the Startup Village. Erik is on the board of directors of many organizations. He has a major in Political Science from VU university Amsterdam
and University of Amsterdam. Erik, please take us back to the very beginning of Tirana Inc. How did it all start and how do you predict this model to work out over time? It was somewhere in the spring of 2019 that my phone was ringing and Valbona Koci phoned. She was wondering if we would be interested to get connected to EU for Innovation and share our Amsterdam experience on stimulating entrepreneurship with Albanian universities. I was immediately thrilled about this opportunity and from this point on we got more and more involved in different activities to build capacity at Albanian universities. To start a student incubator in Albania with multiple universities was always top of mind for me. But you need to learn more about the local context first, meet people and see if this is a really good idea at all. So, first we had meetings, discussions, and workshops out of which slowly have grown personal relationships, mutual understanding, and trust. We focused on the idea of universities becoming entrepreneurial, on teaching entrepreneurship and connecting universities to the wider ecosystem. For me personally, it is amazing to see, how we could build this Tirana Inc. project despite of the pandemic obstacles. I am impressed with all the
51
I N N OVAT I O N / S TA R T U P S
I N N OVAT I O N / S TA R T U P S
S
JP TRAIBLAZING MAGAZINE
