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The COEUR Project (Busi­ness Creativity)

COEUR is an international project bringing together students from different countries and focusing on entrepreneurship.

There are two options to participate in the COEUR project: In the winter, the COEUR "Business Creativity Workshop" takes place as a one-week seminar at one of the partner universities. In the summer, the COEUR "Business Creativity Module" takes place as a weekly course.

Learn more about the COEUR project on the following pages and become an entrepreneur of TOMORROW!

Upcoming Workshop

21th COEUR EuroPreneurship Workshop
7th to 12th of September 2025
Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen (Scotland)

Costs: £500 (~ €600) (inlcuding: housing and food, excluding: travel expenses)

For more information on this year's program, please see the brochure

 

Application

Click here to download the application form. 
Please send the completed form to coeur (at) hs-mainz.de

Deadline: 30.04.2025

COEUR Idea

COEUR stands for "Competence in EuroPreneurship". It represents an initiative of European higher education institutions seeking to innovate entrepreneurial education at European universities.

Its education concepts focus on BUSINESS CREATIVITY and the GENERATION OF CREATIVE IDEAS which finally end up in a concrete VALUE PROPOSITION. Thus the COEUR learning opportunities clearly distinguish from business planning.

By concentrating on the PROCESS OF PROBLEM DEFINITION and IDEA DEVELOPMENT the COEUR learning opportunities contribute to harvest the most important resources on which Europe will have to build in the future: creative ideas!

All COEUR learning opportunities are based on DIVERSITY to stimulate creative thinking with the help of cultural, personal and educational diversity of participants. Focusing on DIVERSITY all learning opportunities are open to participants from any discipline.

Currently, COEUR is offering 2 options to participate:

  • the COEUR Workshop (studium integrale course "Business Creativity Workshop") and
  • the COEUR Business Creativity Module (studium integrale course "Business Creativity Module")

More Information

  • Mainz (Germany) 2008: 2nd 'Europapreis' of the Federal State Rhineland Palatinate for learning opportunities fostering intercultural communication amongst students, awarded on the 6th of May 2008, City Hall, Mainz
  • Riga (Latvia) 2006: Best Paper Award for the 'Most Creative Effort', paper presented at the 6th International Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF), Riga, 31.8.- 2.9.2006
 
  • Eickhoff, M./Trigo, V./Turnbull, A./Dyczkowski, T. (2014): COEUR: Developing Business Creativity and Entrepreneurship in European University Networks, in: Journal Advances in Higher Education, Volume 6, Issue 1/2014, pp. 76-101.
  • Eickhoff, M. (2014): Zehn Jahre COEUR - A European Dream, in: Jahrbuch 2013/14 des Fachbereichs Wirtschafts der Fachhochschule Mainz, Mainz 2014.
  • Eickhoff, M./Turbull, A.: Business Creativity: A New Educational Challenge for European Students. Presentation at the XV International Scientific Conference: Human Capital and Investment in Education, Prague, September 2012.
  • Eickhoff, M./Dyczkowski, T. (2012): Creative in Diversity: Developing Entrepreneurial Talents in European University Networks - Experiences from an Intercultural, (Blended-) Team-learning Opportunity. In preparation (Abstract accepted) for the 17th Nordic Conference on Small Business Research, Helsinki, May 2012.
  • Eickhoff, M./Turnbull, A. (2011): All Business is Glocal: The Importance of a Regional Entrepreneurship Culture. Experiences from the COEUR-Project - Competence in EuroPreneurship. Paper presented to the conference "Entrepreneurship and new venture creation - International models and benchmarks" at the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore (India), December 9, 2011.   
  • Turnbull, A./Eickhoff, M. (2011): Business Creativity - Innovating European Entrepreneurship Education.Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Special Issue: Entrepreneurial Marketing: Volume 24, Issue 1/2011, pp. 139-150.
  • Kardasz, A./Dyczkowski, T. (2009): Discovering the Entrepreneurial Potential in Differences between Europe and China. Paper presented at the 3rd Polish-Chinese-German serial conference in Opole, Poland on October 14-16, 2009.
  • Eickhoff, M./Müller, S. (2008): The ‘COEUR’ - University Network: Experiences with Joint Learning Opportunities in European Entrepreneurship Education. CIDD Papers on International Business Education, No (2) Paris.
  • Eickhoff, M. / Müller, S. (2008): The Business Creativity Module (BCM): Pilot Run of a Joint European Course educating Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation, paper for the G-Forum 2008, 6th-7th November 2008, Dortmund.
 

How to Participate in the COEUR Project

Every September 30 to 40 students from different universities in Europe (such as Finland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Scotland) gather together in an isolated location to participate in the COEUR workshop and create NEW IDEAS for Europe.

Based on the principle of DIVERSITY groups of participants are formed, in which they have to create an idea, evaluate its potential and finally provide a concrete value proposition. At the end of the 5-day workshop, the interculturally mixed teams present their value proposition in front of a jury.

The COEUR workshops look back on a tradition of more than 15 years, having taken us to many different places in Europe, reaching from Lisbon to Helsinki, from Dijon to Wroclaw and in-between. Workshops in Guangzhou (China) and Florianopolis (Brazil) were held to develop an understanding for entrepreneurial cultures around the globe.

Facts about the COEUR Workshop

  • Participation as part of Studium Integrale in the 2nd or 4th semester/5 ECTS
  • Only in the winter semester
  • 5 days of workshop at a location abroad
  • Intercultural team work + entrepreneurial education
  • Costs: approx. €350-600 (depending on Workshop location, full board, excluding flight)
  • Application in the preceding summer semester necessary 
 

21th COEUR EuroPreneurship Workshop
7th to 12th of September 2025
Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen (Scotland)

Costs: £500 (~ €590) (full board, excluding flight)

 

COEUR Business Creativity Module (BCM) is the second learning opportunity students can choose. In contrast to the COEUR Workshop, BMC runs during the regular semester time. Based on the COEUR principles groups of international students are formed to achieve diversity.

The group members communicate online and hence are working in VIRTUAL TEAMS. Within these teams a value proposition has to be created and finally presented in front of a jury (entrepreneurs, investors, etc.) – all based on an online communication system.

Students choosing this alternative not only learn about business creativity, but also practice virtual team work, which tends to become more important in the future.

Facts about BCM

  • Participation as part of Studium Integrale in the 2nd or 4th semester/5 ECTS
  • Only in the summer semester
  • During the whole semester
  • Intercultural and virtual team work + entrepreneurial education
  • Registration via the regular registration process
 

The COEUR University Network

RGU - Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Scotland

Wroclaw University of Economics, Wrowclaw, Poland

HAAGA-HELIA UAS, Helsinki, Finland

Estonian Business School, Tallinn, Estonia

Business & Hotel Management School, Luzern, Switzerland

Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Mainz, Germany

RECAP COEUR WORKSHOP 2024: MAN vs. MACHINE (Wrocław, Poland)

"THE USE OF AI" AS THE THEME OF THE 20TH COEUR WORKSHOP

The 2024 COEUR initiative workshop focused on the theme "Man vs. Machine," exploring the opportunities, risks, and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The objective was to analyze AI's role in business, its potential to enhance decision-making and efficiency, and the challenges related to ethical concerns, biases, and dependency. With participants from diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds, the workshop encouraged a multidisciplinary approach to understanding AI’s impact on entrepreneurship and innovation.

THE WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE
The workshop was designed to foster creativity, collaboration, and cultural exchange. At the beginning of the week, students introduced themselves and participated in a cultural exchange, presenting their home countries – Germany, Finland, Poland, Scotland, and Switzerland. 

As the week progressed, students formed international teams and worked on developing AI-driven business ideas, supported by professors from the participating universities. They engaged in discussions led by industry professionals and academic experts, gaining valuable insights into AI’s role in business and its broader societal impact. Through a design thinking approach, they explored user-focused solutions, analyzed real-world case studies, and participated in interactive sessions that highlighted AI’s benefits and potential risks.

Throughout the workshop, teams refined their business concepts through structured project development, culminating in final presentations. Keynote speeches from experts provided inspiration, while two idea check-ups allowed project groups to present their ideas and receive immediate feedback, helping them to further develop their concepts. This structured approach ensured that participants not only gained theoretical knowledge but also applied creative problem-solving to real-world business challenges.

THE RESULT: SIX CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL IDEAS
By the end of the week, the students demonstrated that dedication and effort lead to success through their innovative business ideas:

  1. Clean Stream: An ocean cleaning organization that uses AI driven drones and sensors to detect and collect garbage out of the water.
  2. DocuMateX: Reducing bureaucracy through an AI-based document management system.
  3. Food Guard: An AI-driven smart fridge assistant that tracks expiration dates, monitors stored items, and suggests recipes to reduce food waste. By optimizing grocery use and simplifying meal planning, it promotes sustainability and saves money.
  4. ZenVRse: An AI-powered VR headset that creates personalized relaxation spaces for students, teachers, and professors to reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance well-being.
  5. Wayst Warriors: A pilot project in Copenhagen utilizing AI-driven robots to remove cigarette butts and small plastic waste, reducing pollution and optimizing recycling processes. The initiative ensures sustainable scalability through a funding model combining public grants, corporate partnerships, and crowdfunding.
  6. Travel Buddy: An AI-powered travel assistant that plans trips, provides on-site support, and simplifies public transport use – a specialized ChatGPT for seamless travel without unnecessary extras.

These six outstanding entrepreneurial concepts developed during the program, each tackling a real-world problem with innovative AI-driven solutions.


More than just a workshop on AI in business, the COEUR 2024 experience was about people – about the connections formed, the diverse perspectives shared, and the collective growth of everyone involved. Over the course of the week, students from different cultural and academic backgrounds came together, pushing their creative boundaries and challenging their assumptions about technology and its role in the world. The collaborative spirit fostered a strong sense of camaraderie, proving that innovation thrives in an environment of open dialogue and shared learning, as participants left with new insights, friendships, and skills.

(Susanne Osterholzer, Marsha Hogewind)

Impressions

Downloads

COEUR application form
XLSX, 25 KB
COEUR Workshop Brochure 2025
PDF, 630 KB

Who to contact