Project overview

Cooperating countries: Burkina Faso and Austria

Coordinating institution: FH Joanneum

Project coordinator: FH-Prof. Mag. Dr. Doris Kiendl

Partner institution: Burkina Faso Institute of Technology

Project duration: 01.11.2020 - 31.10.2023

The project aimed to train faculty members of the Burkina Faso Institute of Technology (BIT) on how to educate students in entrepreneurial skills and to strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of lecturers in Burkina Faso in order to contribute to the economic development of the country. The project enabled the BIT teaching staff to guide students on how to generate creative ideas, on how to consider whether there is a market for products and services, on how to set up a business including financing, resources and compliance with the legal framework, and on how to market the products and services in order to achieve a sustainable business model.

Within the framework of the project lecturers from Burkina Faso carried out two study visits to FH JOANNEUM (FHJ) in 2021 and 2022. They were able to exchange good practices on entrepreneurship education with lecturers of FH JOANNEUM, get to know the start-up ecosystem in Graz and further develop their own teaching in Burkina Faso through the impressions they gained.

The highlight of the project was a joint conference in Koudougou on 22/23 February 2023. Numerous entrepreneurs from Burkina Faso met with lecturers from the BIT and FH JOANNEUM to discuss strategies and success models for cooperation between educational institutions and start-ups and to generate joint ideas for promoting student employability and strengthening the start-up ecosystem in Burkina Faso. Workshops with BIT students on design thinking and entrepreneurship for engineers rounded off the conference.