The role of educational projects in building an ecosystem of university startups

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyze the prospects of cooperation between universities and the business world on the example of training courses implemented within the framework of a project funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW). The paper presents the objectives, nature, and importance of business education projects that affect the form of university-business cooperation.

Design/methodology/approach: The article presents the barriers and advantages, that is, the factors determining the cooperation between the university and business. The study is based on the results of a survey of the target group participating in training courses, a literature review and focus interviews.

Findings: The conducted research allowed to analyze the main barriers to cooperation between universities and businesses and identify measures to improve the efficiency of technology transfer and commercialization of innovations within educational projects.

Research limitations/implications: The results of this work can become an incentive to undertake further research on the cooperation between universities and business. The study has certain limitations, resulting mainly from a small research group (32 people), however, it provides valuable feedback on the benefits of cooperation for recipients.
Practical implications: The results can be used to develop educational activities aimed at forming an academic ecosystem of startups and increasing the effectiveness of cooperation between universities and business in the framework of scientific projects.

Social implications: The implementation of research results will contribute to improving the level of education and employment of the population.

Originality/value: As a result of the research, it was found that the implementation of business education projects can become a driver for the development of university startups and increase the interest of university employees in cooperation with business.