The “Diaspora 4 Entrepreneurship Education” kick-off took place today, at the GIZ Sustainability HUB in Tirana, marking the start of a transformative initiative for Albania’s educational landscape.
The event opened with remarks from Michael Oos, EU4I Programme Manager who welcomed the participants, key stakeholders of this initiative, spanning from academic leaders to diaspora members, government representatives and development agencies/ donors. Ms. Jenni Lundmark from the EU Delegation to Albania, highlighted the project’s significance in terms of facilitating the cooperation between Higher Education Institutions in Albania and Europe leveraging the Albanian diaspora. Dr. Iven Schad from the German Embassy reassured the commitment of Germany to invest in the educational sector in Albania, with a special focus on higher education.
Following, Lirim Krasniqi, Co-Executive Director of GERMIN, and Valbona Koci, Adviser at EU4Innovation, presented the project’s goal and roadmap. They outlined GERMIN’s extensive experience in diaspora engagement and provided insights into the process how new entrepreneurship-focused courses will be integrated into various study programs taught in Albanian Universities.
The highlight was a panel discussion focused on exploring the role of diaspora in shaping the future of the entrepreneurship education in Albania.
The panel included prominent figures such as Anila (Hyka) Smørgrav (Engagement Director at Orange), Dr. Elona Karafili (Vice Rector at UPOLIS), Viola Makishti (Business Informatics student at EPOKA), Arjan Ymeri (Head of Start-up Albania Agency). They brought the perspective of diaspora, university, entrepreneurship and government, towards supporting the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, and acknowledged the importance of Diaspora expertise in this endeavour.
This launch sets a strong foundation for the Diaspora4Innovation, which seeks to activate the global knowledge of diaspora for the local impact, building bridges between diaspora talent and actors of the Albanian education and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
