Open Call 1 Programme
Workshop
Led by Prof. John Breslin and Prof. W. Bernard Carlson from the TechInnovate programme at the University of Galway, the ADT4Blue online workshop will give novice entrepreneurs an overview of the concepts, tools, and skills needed to create a digital technology innovation-driven enterprise. It will be based on the latest teaching and research on innovation and entrepreneurship, such as design thinking from Stanford, disciplined entrepreneurship from MIT, and the US National Science Foundation’s I-Corps. The workshop is scheduled to run over seven weeks, each online session will last between 4-6 hours. The sessions will be a mix of lectures and group exercises, and participants will be encouraged to bring their initial innovation ideas, be prepared to pitch them and work in teams in an immersive learning experience. The following topics will be covered:
Week 1
Why? Understanding the Problems that Stakeholders have in the Blue Economy
Week 2
What? Part One: a short introduction to the technologies the teams are covering for the ADT4Blue project
Week 3
What? Part Two: Matching Digital Technologies to Blue Economy Problems
Week 4
Sustainability? Ensuring that a particular digital technology is right for business, society, and the environment
Week 5
How? Part One: Working with Mentors
Week 6
How? Part 2: Implementing a Digital Solution
Week 7
Summary and Pitching
By the end of the workshop, participants will pitch their ideas and receive a certificate of completion.
Training
After completing the workshop, participants can choose from a range of training modules offered by the ADT4Blue Training Programme. They can attend all modules or select those that best align with their learning objectives and the specific needs of their solution. The Training Programme will run for 2 weeks either online or, if possible, in a blended learning format The following modules will be available:
| Training | Modules | Duration |
Digital Technologies | Artificial Intelligence | 4 – 5 hours |
| Blockchain | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Internet of Things | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Big Data | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Cybersecurity | 4 – 5 hours | |
Management | Agile Project Management | 4 – 5 hours |
| Leadership | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Change Management | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Decision Making | 4 – 5 hours | |
Entrepreneurship | Startup Financing | 4 – 5 hours |
| Digital Marketing | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Understanding Customer Needs | 4 – 5 hours | |
| Developing a Business Plan | 4 – 5 hours |
Mentoring
The ADT4Blue Mentoring Programme will support teams in turning their ideas developed to address the challenges into business ventures. Teams will be matched with a mentor and receive active mentoring and support throughout the entire ADT4Blue Programme on:
- Training: the mentors will help teams select the training courses that best align with their objectives and solution needs
- How to access investors or partners
- Networking events
- Preparation of a long-term plan to support entrepreneurship.
The Mentoring Programme will run simultaneously with the Training Programme and continue for an additional 8 weeks. During this time, teams will further develop their ideas and seek to convert them into solutions at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or 5. Teams who succeed will be invited to pitch their solutions to stakeholders in the ADT4Blue OC1 online final event.
The available ADT4Blue Mentoring Programme services are listed in the table below.
| Mentoring | Modules |
Knowledge Transfer | Support on financial and administrative tasks Process automation and resource optimisation Guidance on tools for company management Legal and regulation advice (registrations, IP, contracts) |
Marketing and Communication | Communication strategies Branding and awareness creation Digital Marketing |
Career Guidance | Development of leadership skills Communication and team management skills (problem-solving) Training and Upskilling opportunities |
Networking Opportunities | Investors Potential partnerships Access to potential customers Other entrepreneurial partnerships (incubators and accelerators) |
| Business Development and Design | Guidance on strategy definition Business modelling Identification and development of the PMV and prototyping Benchmarking of the market, customers and competitors |
| Funding | Assistance in the identification of funding sources for the incubation and consolidation of new technology service companies Project funding (Research+Development+Innovation) |
| Blue Economy | Definition of the Blue Economy Sustainability and conservationKey sectors Economic impact Marine pollution |