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news and updates

What do the European SMEs mean to the labour market?

2/17/2020

 
Actually a lot - but we hope you knew that already.  As presented in a report here on SME Academy web site the impact of the Micro Sized and Small businesses is huge - and adding also the middle sized to it - it is really understandable how important it is to support the start up and growth of new enterprises - in every single European Country.
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Source: Digital Toolbox: Innovation for Nordic Tourism SMEs
As you can see in the Table above SMEs are employing two thirds of all in private enterprises in Europe. - interesting figure to keep in mind when planning activities for growth and adjusting taxes and economic systems to support the citizens of Europe. And the truth is that it looks more or less the same all over the world.
To the full report

Watch our video that describes the definition of the sizes of European Enterprises

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Entrepreneurs Climate Guide - by Federation of Finnish enterprises

2/12/2020

 
As SMEs can often feel puzzled about the concrete measures they can do regarding climate change, we in FFE wanted to create them a free and practical guide:  Entrepreneur’s Climate Change Guide - 80 ways to fight climate change

Logo of Federation of Finnish Enterprises with link to their web
Press release - Climate guide
Access the Entrepreneurs Climate Guide
In the guide we present simple methods an entrepreneur can use to tackle climate change in their daily business operations. We remind entrepreneurs that taking the environment into account can be a competitive advantage and make their business stand out. It can be the road to better, more profitable business. The decisions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) truly matter in the climate change battle. We realized that there was not much advice written from this perspective, so we decided to make it available in English too.
 
The English version of the guide can be downloaded for free at: https://climatechange.yrittajat.fi/
 
It is free for all entrepreneurs in Europe and outside.

Women in Business - Call for applications to training programme

2/11/2020

 
Women in Business logo with link to website
INVITATION TO APPLICANTS
The consortium of the project WOMEN IN BUSINESS - "Fostering the Young Women Entrepreneurship in the Danube Region” invites all women who fulfill the eligibility criteria to attend the First Entrepreneurship Pilot Training Programme.
If you are a woman aged 15 - 34 years, located in some of the Danube region countries, willing to start or already running own business, we invite you to join our WOMEN IN BUSINESS community to improve your entrepreneurial culture, skills and competences for the development of your business and for obtaining market success.
Through the established 4 Women Entrepreneurship Centres (EWC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania participants in the Training Programme will gain free of charge:

Training Programme WEB
Application Form

Deadline for applying to the first activity - 21st February 2020

Link to website of programme

eIDAS - Open European Digital Borders - 29th September 2018

5/28/2018

 
Electronic identities are crucial components of the Digital Single Market within the European Member States. 29th September 2018 will be an important day and a great step forward for all European Citizens - and for all European Small Businesses. The Red Tape and administrative hinders will be less when it comes to support digital business and will also mean a lot to obtain the open inner market, not at least when it comes to tenders and procurement.
There are still, just 4 month before the take off, a lot of activities going on and development of systems to support this opportunity that eIDAS means.
each member states single point of contact and status of eIDAS implementation
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Click for high resolution infograph
This Infograph explains the pros and cons of improving the eIDAS regulation for businesses using electronic identification means and trust services. The gains can be enormous for them and lead to a significant reduction in overheads - boosting profits. It can make the difference between expansion and stagnation for small and medium sized businesses.

This is how to do it

This page is for public or private online service providers wanting to learn more about integration with the eIDAS Network in their country. For public service providers, there is an obligation under the eIDAS Regulation to do so by 29 September 2018. For private service providers, there are a number of compelling benefits to doing so.
It is important to note that the specific integration process and activities conducted will differ depending on the situation in your country (eIDAS-Node infrastructure and eID schemes in use), as well as the specific needs of your organisation. The information on this page is therefore indicative only, designed to give you an idea of the sort of activities you can expect to undertake. 
You must contact your Single Point of Contact before beginning the process, as they will support you according to your organisation's specific context. 
You can also check with your national member in the European Digital SME Alliance.


Watch this video for a short explanation on how eIDAS works.

Do you know what is important in training of Entrepreneurs?

5/25/2018

 
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Training of Entrepreneurs and business owners has always been a topic to discuss among all of us trying to train and inspire them. What to do - what not to do? What is a must and what is a "no-no"?
Over the years this has of course like anything else changed - and not at least due to the digitalization we see everywhere.
Training in the workplace have changed to be not only on site but also on line. e-Learning have been followed by e-coaching and e-mentoring. We see more and more of video clips and animated videos - and now the first AR and VR based training tolls are popping up.


On 29th of May at 10.00 AM CET there will be an online workshop where we will discuss this and share our experiences. We will start with a keynote presentation by Esther Gonzales - Magenta.
After that we will give the floor to all participants and we will have a chance to share our best practices and to develop new ideas on how to approach this challenge. The workshop will be moderated by Kenneth OE Sundin, SME Academy.
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Register to the Workshop
Read more about the workshop

SME Albania - Summer Academy 2018

5/23/2018

 
The Albanian Institute of SMEs “SMEs Albania” organize their second Summer Academy for SMEs on “training on export management”.
In the program during 25-29 June entrepreneurs and small businesses will find a focus on international business. Topics like:
  • Documentation and Export procedures
  • International Trade
  • Barriers for export
  • Internationalization of businesses
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The Summer Academy is visited by SMEs that are exporting or have a potential in finding new markets. Future exporters are also among the attendees as students are invited to participate.

The presenter list, with a mix of international and domestic speakers and lecturers, is indicating a very inspiring and fully packed week of knowledge and experience that will be shared. One of the speakers will be our own founder of the SME Academy, Kenneth OE Sundin .

The event will take place at Hotel Tirana International, in Tirana, Albania.

SASME 2018

Interested in Micro financing? Visit Bilbao in October 2018

5/19/2018

 
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The European Microfinance Network (MFN) and the Microfinance Centre (MFC) will organise their joint annual conference, in partnership with Seed Capital Bizkaia Micro, from 3rd-5th October 2018 in Bilbao, Spain. The Euskalduna Conference Centre, located in the very heart of the city, will host the event providing a unique emplacement to the annual conference. 

Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing - a great market for SMEs

5/13/2018

 
3D printing and related services like 3D modeling, Animation, Cad etc will be growing rapidly as new materials and new tools will find their way to businesses - not at least Small Businesses that can adopt to new technologies - based on experiences and new knowledge.
Finding skilled managers and employees is one of the challenges but the pay back can be worth the effort.

What is Additive Manufacturing?
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Source: SME AM3DP Annual Report 2018

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One of the members of the SME Academy Network, SMEBOX,  has published an inspiring article based on the SME - Medical Additive Manufacturing Annual report 2018. Read it here...

EU Events - SME Academy - Partnership

5/13/2018

 
We are very happy to announce our partnership and collaboration between EU Events and SME Academy.

The SME Academy Network with more than 600 members from all EU-member states and now including EU Events, is a diverse group of Business Developers, Trainers and Mentors, Consultants, Service Providers, Authorities, representatives from the Public Sector on all levels, Universities with researches, teachers and professors, VET Schools and SME Associations. Initiated in 2013, it offers a number of benefits to its members regardless of whether you are a knowledge provider or are supporting SMEs in activities and projects.
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In a recent survey among the SME Academy Network members, Brussels was in top position when it comes to organizing conferences and other events and SME Academy is currently planning activities both in Brussels and online.

Given EU Events marked interest in SMEs and training, this partnership is a natural asset to help us gathering and sharing relevant events coming from or of interest to the SME world in Brussels and the rest of Europe. This is why #EUEvents calendar can now be found also on SME Academy website.
We wish all our old and new visitors welcome to get a bit more out of both EU Events and SME Academy.

in Screen Mode - Internet Addiction Behavior (IBA)

4/28/2018

 
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CrystalClearSoft (CCS) is proud to announce the launch of the Erasmus+ Project ‘in Screen Mode’ that targets young people at risk for Internet Addiction Behaviour (IAB). The project aims at empowering young people (16-25 years old) to deal effectively with situations concerning excessive preoccupation with Internet or screen abuse, equipping them with the skills and the methodological and engineering tools to modify mal-adaptive computer behavior for healthy computer use. In order to achieve its goal ‘in Screen Mode’ will create a personal e-Learning environment integrating easily use tools (i.e. an Internet Addiction Genie) that will offer personalized Internet withdrawal or screen reduction plans for each specific user.
The 2nd project meeting was held in Kaunas (Lithuania) and partners discussed about new advances in the project: focusing on behaviours of young population that will be addressed by the training model, they have started the development of action plans to support individual users to moderate their screen time on specific online activities such as SSN, online gaming, gambling, online pornography, develop low level personality traits, and cope with negative behaviours and feelings due to problematic Internet use.

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Soon, you will able through our website to get a personalized report of your behavior over Internet use and suggested action plans, if applicable to you, to moderate your excessive online behavior for a healthier computer use.
 
Are you following along with our progress? Please visit our website and the social media.

In SCreen - Facebook Page
Download pressrelease
Follow in Screen on Twitter


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Institute of Entrepreneurship Development - News

4/13/2018

 
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We are happy to be mentioned in the April 2018 edition of the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development newsletter. As the SME Academy Network is growing and we are meeting more and more individuals and organizations working with Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses we can notice that the work we have been doing since start pays off in terms of mutual benefits for our members and that our "News and Updates" reaches out with information from and about our members. We will now investigate the opportunities to co-host a workshop and we share the interest in putting more focus on entrepreneurship and increase the awareness of the importance of entrepreneurs.

The Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (iED) is a Greek NGO committed to the promotion of innovation and the enhancing of the spirit of entrepreneurship.
Read the iED Newsletter here
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What's the point – can entrepreneurship research have an impact on its communities?

4/11/2018

 
On 19th April - 3-5 PM CET - ESTRAD will, in an online seminar, give you some answers to these very important questions regarding Entrepreneurship.
- Why are social relationships and networks critical assets for entrepreneurs?
- How can universities support entrepreneurs in a better way?
- How can we understand entrepreneurship in different contexts?

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ESBRI WEB TV Watch the Lecture after 19th April 2018

Live streaming on ESBRI TV on Youtube
Many entrepreneurs aim for their business to be global from the start. Thus, understanding how they will affect - and be affected by - different local contexts, becomes more important. Research has an important role to play here, according to professor Sarah Jack. However, the impact which entrepreneurship research can have on the communities served, is less well understood.

This is the topic for Sarah Jack's Estrad lecture. Drawing on her extensive research on different aspects of entrepreneurship, from a variety of different contexts around the world, she will provide us with fresh perspectives.

Read more about the seminar here...
To attend on site - you need to register - to watch live follow this link on 19th April 3 PM CET - to watch afterwords - ESBRI Web-TV

Robotics & 3D Printing in SMEs - Challenges & Opportunities

3/11/2018

 
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On 9th of March SME Academy arranged a Workshop in Robotics and 3D printing - with focus on SMEs and the new skills that are required for individuals. In the session Dr. Paul Quantock gave a  brief summary of a research report with some very interesting details regarding the situation and vision in European SMEs as well as some challenges they will meet - or are already meeting. The report was created by the ROTENA project and has served as a base for a package of training modules in Robotics, 3D printing  and how to construct your own robot..

In the second part Lino Ferreira, CEPROF, and Rafaele Silva , Ovar Forma, presented the training modules and their work to develop them. The base for the curriculum and the level of the training modules was to aim at individual with little or no understanding in Robotics and 3D printing. The target group is SMEs and their entrepreneurs, managers and employees as well as students and individuals that want to get inspiration for a new career.
In the discussion from the Workshop you will find different approaches and challenges discusses as well as the situation in the market.
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The Workshop was recorded and is now available in video format divided into two parts - Part 1 and Part 2 - there the agenda above describes the content. The first two items are in Part 1 and the final two in Part 2. You can watch watch the videos by moving direct to Youtube - or as embedded videos below in this post.

Workshop - Part 1
Workshop - Part 2


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This is how the SME Academy Network Conference will be arranged

3/10/2018

 
The Survey is closed and we have a result!
To arrange a conference for a network with 600 members spread in 50 countries can be a challenge and a headache - how to meet all requirements and demands? Now we know how our members of the SME Academy Network wants it - and this can serve as a tips for other event producers as well.
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Go to the results of the survey...

The e-Training Centre for Social Entrepreneurs - ETC.4SE

3/8/2018

 
The e-Training Centre for Social Entrepreneurs (ETC.4SE) aims to promote an entrepreneurial culture among the long term unemployed. The project will build and provide tools to help future entrepreneurs solve a specific challenge in their community.
ETC.4SE will aim to improve generic skills, such as active entrepreneurship, critical thinking and digital competences. All these resources will be available on an educational tool, our own Virtual Learning Environment, which will help create a complete educational experience. This business simulator is intended to provide trainees with practical knowledge in order to have a first approach to the business realities. 

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Like ETC.4SE on Facebook
Visit ETC.4SE Web

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The ETC.4Se - Team
Contact: Mrs. Sofia Tsiortou, sofia@tsiortos.com, Drosostalida Social Enterprise, coordinator of the ETC.4SE project.
Or write a message direct on their web here...


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