Blog

  • Embedding Entrepreneurship in Teaching – Advanced Course

    Embedding Entrepreneurship in Teaching – Advanced Course

    This advanced course is designed for educators who want to apply entrepreneurship directly in their teaching. You’ll explore research-based approaches, test them in your own practice, and get valuable feedback from peers and experts.
    .

    ✅ What you’ll gain

    • Practical tools for designing entrepreneurial learning activities
    • A deeper understanding of entrepreneurship in education
    • Peer and expert feedback
    • Inspiration from other educators across disciplines
    • A supportive community of practice

    🗓️ Course format

    • Two online sessions:
       • September 10, 09:00–12:00
       • December 2, 09:00–12:00
    • Between sessions: Individual work and peer-reviewed assignment
    • Workload: 20 hours
    • Platform: Zoom (link will be sent before the course)
    • Language: English

    🎯 Who can join?

    Academic staff in higher education who have completed the basic course
    Entrepreneurship Education for Better Learning or can document equivalent experience.

    📌 Practical info

    REgister here


    👉 Ready to take your teaching further?

    Register now and join a growing community of educators embedding entrepreneurship in higher education.

  • EiT Innovation Awards – A glimpse of NTNU students’ unique ability to innovate

    EiT Innovation Awards – A glimpse of NTNU students’ unique ability to innovate

    The very first EiT Innovation Awards was held May 3. This event was a pitching competition featuring project ideas from EiT student teams, where a winner was to be selected and a total of 10,000 NOK awarded!

    By Pernille S. Osmundsen

    Experts in Team (EiT) is a master’s course taken by students from all faculties at NTNU. The students work in interdisciplinary teams on projects that aim to create value for society. The Experts in Teamwork Academic Section is currently engaged in a project focusing on enhancing innovation and value creation in student projects. Given SFU Engage’s focus area on student innovation, a collaboration ensued. The objective was to conduct an event where EiT teams could further the value they contributed, and what is more engaging than a competition?

    Five teams in total were competing in the Innovation Awards.

    The outcome was an event where students from various EiT villages could showcase the projects they had been working on this spring. The competition was open to all EiT teams to register, and eventually, five groups covering a wide range of problems and solutions took to the stage to present their ideas.

    To demonstrate to the students the broad and accessible innovation environment at NTNU, the event started with a presentation on this topic by Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald. She is a PhD candidate at SFU Engage and explained why it is important to be engaged and the opportunities available when working on innovation.

    Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald presenting the Innovation environment at NTNU.

    Following this, the five EiT teams took to the stage, each having five minutes to pitch the problem they aimed to solve and their idea. The judging panel, representing key players in Trondheim’s innovation ecosystem, included members from 6AM Accelerator, Futurum Ventures, Gründerbrakka, and SFU Engage. After the pitches, the panel posed questions that the teams needed to answer before the next team could take the stage. The teams came from five different EiT villages, and these were their project titles:

    • Icebreaker: “Lek-E-skap” takes play outdoors to the schoolyard – TBA4856 Innovative Sports Facilities
    • How to counteract energy poverty in a smart energy future? – AAR4912 Climate-Neutral Trondheim 2030?
    • WattMobile (smart energy administrator) – TIØ4855 Smart Energy Management
    • Virtual Theory Test – An innovation project for Statens Vegvesen – PED3801 VR/AR and AI in Learning
    • The Salmon Billionaire (knowledge enhancement in aquaculture) – TMR4853 Aquaculture – Technology on the Premises of Biology
    The first team out, pitching their idea of a playground equipment box.

    The first group to present spoke about their solution to playground equipment issues and said that although they were not experienced presenters, they enjoyed gaining experience pitching their idea. The final group presented a game to enhance expertise in aquaculture in an entertaining way and found it nerve-wracking to be on stage. However, they also expressed excitement at challenging themselves in something so different from their usual academic work. They further shared that it was exciting to learn about the innovation environment in general and to see the possible paths one could take if you have an idea and want to work on a product.

    The judging panel questioning the EiT-teams.

    The five teams gave the panel much to discuss, while the rest of the attendees enjoyed some food as the anticipation of who would win grew. 6AM Accelerator provided the winning prize, which was a cheque for 10,000 NOK, along with advisory services to further develop their idea. After careful consideration, the winners were chosen. Anna Johanne Holden Jacobsen, Olav Anglevik Seim, Christian Le, Caroline Grimsrud and Harald Bjerkli, with their idea of using VR for theoretical traffic training walked away with the victory. Proud of their product, they found it exciting to showcase it and experienced the competition as educational. They talked about the importance of being able to communicate and market their idea and were pleased to see that there is a market for such innovative solutions.

    The winning team, from the left: Olav Anglevik Seim, Christian Le, Anna Johanne Holden Jacobsen and Harald Bjerkli, not on the picture: Caroline Grimsrud.

    Overall, it was a successful event where we got to see the vast scope of ideas that can come to life through the EiT course, and we look forward to future EiT Innovation Awards.

  • INNOVATE for Better

    INNOVATE for Better

    By Nicole Linnéa Monavari

    Through this award, students are invited to showcase their sustainable ideas to experts in Equinor. The winner gets away with a monetary prize and access to Subject Matter Experts in Equinor for 3 months.

    Transforming the drilling industry

    The efficiency and safety of drilling and well operations essentially rely on correct, timely, and optimal decisions and actions taken by the driller. Digitalization advances – new sensors, wired pipe data, digital twins, and automation systems – bring about a steadily increasing stream of data helpful for this decision-making. However, the value of these advances is essentially limited by how much information the driller can perceive in real-time through the main communication channel: the screens. The screen space is limited, and increasing the number of screens or tabs does not solve the main bottleneck: how much visual information the driller can perceive and process during long, and often tiring and stressful shifts. 

    DrillFeel addresses this bottleneck. It is a new technology that allows the driller to feel the drilling process through actuated joysticks – borrowed from the gaming industry. Imagine pressing a button and feeling the drilling process through the joysticks in the driller’s chair as if you put your hands on the BHA several kilometers down the wellbore. You do not need screens, support personnel, or Artificial Intelligence to recognize, for example, a stick-slip vibration. You can feel it, make necessary changes in WOB and RPM, and then confirm, again through feeling, that the stick-slip is gone. It is simple, intuitive, and yet very efficient. You can feel much more than just a stick-slip. Imagine feeling exactly when you need to stop running in casing, with precision like in a robot-assisted surgery, just kilometers away. Think about interacting with automation systems like the lane-keeping functionality in your car: you are in full control of the process, yet an automatic system gives you hints through the steering wheel to stay within your lane. DrillFeel brings this concept to drilling with joysticks instead of the steering wheel. And DrillFeel can do much more. 

    A functional DrillFeel prototype has been tested by drillers on synthetic and field data, as well as in real time on high-fidelity simulators and in lab-scale drilling. It got positive feedback and support from the industry (AkerBP, Equinor, etc, see, e.g., the feedback from Equinor CEO Anders Opedal:https://youtu.be/wILXR_pje3Y) and received an innovation award from Equinor’s Innovate for Better contest.

    Like last year, the panel got so impressed by the brilliant solutions that they raised the prizes for all three of the winning teams. The first group to receive the prize from Equinor where DrillFeel which is a project team led by the professor Alexey Pavlov, where the project received 100 000 NOK. Drillfeel comes from the Faculty of Geoscience and Petroleum at NTNU, where their innovative solutions aims to help to hold the operator updated and enhance their situational awareness by presenting the use of haptic feedback to translate downhole measurements into intuitive forces on a real-time joystick, where the driller can perceive and respond effectively. With this solution, DrillFeel can contribute to transform the drilling for many sectors, such as oil and gas, CO2 storage, hydrogen storage and geothermal energy.

    The project team consists of the students Wietse Maas, Jorn Visser, Ali Hashemi, along with their supervisor Alexey Pavlov. Visser encourages everyone to apply for this project, by stating that winning this award confirms that the idea has an enourmous potential which can contribute to a more sustainable world.

    “I feel honored that a company like Equinor appreciates our work and awards it with such a prize. The prize and Equinor’s expertise will be a great contribution to further development and promotion of the DrillFeel project and ideas”

    Jorn Visser, intern in DrillFeel.

    Last year, Visser and Maas finished their Msc at the Eidhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, where both of them had the opportunity to take an internship at NTNU in Trondheim. The internship led them to be a part of the project team of DrillFeel. 

    Wietse Maas, intern in Drillfeel.

    Cerebioncs: One person show

    Although INNOVATE for Better recommended groups toapply, Agnessa Pedersen took the chance and applied with her idea Cerebionics. Pedersen told us that it was the first time she applied for this kind of competition, and we are happy she decided to try. During her years in high school, the thoughts around automization got in her mind and she recalls that she thought about autimatizing drawing. After she begun the Master´s in Robotics and Kybernetics, Pedersen realized that these thoughts could go somewhere and Cerebionics was born. With Cerebionics, humans can be “replaced” by humanoid which can contribute to solve challenges with high risk of human accidents.

    The panel was so fond by Pedersen´s ideas, that she received not only the original prize of 50 000 NOK, but 150 000 NOK which can contribute to her “one peron show”, as stated by the senior vice president in Equinor Andreas Jagtøyen. 

    ” ‘INNOVATE for better’ was my first pitch ever, and it’s the first time I’ve entered a pitch competition where I publicly shared my idea. It’s difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I was noticed, and that there’s willingness to invest in this. It’s completely surreal, but I’m so grateful for it because now I can afford to build a whole system.”

    Agnessa Pedersen, CEO in Cerebionics.

    Her plan now is to develop the entire system, where Pedersen is thinking of building a full-scale humanoid and solving some of the minor problems such as speed, distance, and force. In her pitch, Pedersen acknowledges and mentions several problems for humans that can lead to accidents.

    “There are several different challenges people face now, such as searching for objects on the ocean floor and building structures that have previously led to accidents. By using humanoids, it can help make the transition to sustainability a little easier.”

    Arctic Protein

    The startup which ran off with the biggest prize were the startup Arctic Protein, which won 400 000 NOK. Arctic Protein has their roots from the School of Entrepreneurship, and currently consists of four team members from various study backgrounds. The team works actively towards leaving a low climate footprint, by simply being “insect farmers” where they harness Black Soldier Flies, make protein out of it and sells it to feed producers, which can feed their protein flour to the salmon industry in Norway. 

    “We didn’t expect to win, and we were very lucky and excited to take the first place. We are currently working on an expansion of the production facility, where we will relocate much of the production. This requires that we want to build a container solution in a simple part of the factory. I believe the 400,000 kr will be a perfect contribution to build this up.

    In regards to how the start up wants to take advantage of the expertise from Equinor, Myking states that they still need to learn more about various processing techniques which they believe Equinor will be able to contribute to with great advising.

    “It was a bit funny because usually we probably wouldn’t fall under Equinor’s scope. First and foremost, we produce insects and use waste streams that often have a lot of quality in them, and we try to optimize how we use them. We do this by feeding it to the insects and using these insects for protein. Through this, we get some by-products, such as the excrement, which is good fertilizer but can also be a great contributor as biogas. When we have such large amounts of waste here in the country, much of which goes to fuel, these insects can be seen as a kind of biofilter simply to extract high-quality protein sources and start the first part of the processing that is converted into biogas.” 

    Arctic Protein already has big plans for the autumn. They will move to Tromsø to start a factory, something they are incredibly excited about.

    “We got hold of the waste there, where again the opportunities lie in the first place. Some of us will still remain here in Trondheim and operate the factory here while we start the new one, so we have a lot of excitement ahead.”

  • Kurs for utdannere: Entreprenørskapsutdanning for bedre læring

    Kurs for utdannere: Entreprenørskapsutdanning for bedre læring

    Hvem er kurset for?

    • For deg som underviser i høyere utdanning – uansett fagområde

    Hva vil du lære i dette kurset?

    • Å tenke og handle mer som en entreprenør
    • Å inspirere studentene dine til å utvikle entreprenøriell kompetanse
    • Å utfordre studentene til å samarbeide med enkeltpersoner og organisasjoner utenfor universitetet

    Kurs 2026

    Online kurs på engelsk

    9.–11. juni 2026, kl. 09:00–15:00 alle tre dager. Klikk her for å melde deg på. Påmeldingsfrist: 25. mai 2026.

    Pris: For ansatte ved NTNU eller Nord universitet: Gratis. Ordinær deltakeravgift: 8 000 kr (faktura sendes).

    Fysisk kurs på norsk

    12. og 13. mai , kl. 09.00–16.00 begge dager. NTNU Campus Gløshaugen.

    Pris: For ansatte ved NTNU eller Nord universitet: Gratis. Ordinær deltakeravgift: 8 000 kr (faktura sendes).
    Lunsj og kaffe serveres begge dager.

    Påmelding: Ansatte ved NTNU melder seg på via Uniped-programmet. Øvrige deltakere melder seg på her.

    Hvordan kan vi skape mer inkluderende lokalsamfunn? Hvordan kan vi få folk til å endre vaner for å bidra til et grønnere samfunn? Hvordan kan vi bruke kunstig intelligens for å gjøre helsetjenestene mer effektive, uten å miste den menneskelige varmen og omsorgen? For å løse vår tids store samfunnsutfordringer trenger vi mennesker fra ulike fagområder som tenker og jobber sammen – både gjennom å starte nye initiativer og ved å skape endringer i organisasjoner og lokalsamfunn.

    En entreprenør er en person som ser muligheter, skaper løsninger og mobiliserer nødvendige ressurser for å realisere ideer – og dermed skaper verdi for andre. I dette kurset vil du lære å tenke og handle mer som en entreprenør – sammen med mennesker fra ulike fagfelt. Du vil også lære hvordan du kan inspirere studentene dine til å utvikle entreprenøriell kompetanse, slik at de kan bli endringsagenter i sine egne kontekster – både under og etter studiene.

    Entreprenørskap vil bli undervist i et dynamisk samspill mellom teoretiske innlegg, individuell refleksjon, problemløsning og gruppearbeid. I et vennlig og støttende læringsmiljø vil du få trening i definere problem, lete etter løsninger, skape muligheter og “pitche” ideer, samt gi og motta tilbakemeldinger på andres ideer og presentasjoner. Du vil lære hvordan du kan utfordre studentene dine til å jobbe i samspill med personer og organisasjoner utenfor universitetet. Når kurset er fullført, vil du ha laget en plan for hvordan du kan integrere entreprenørielle elementer i din egen undervisning.

    Vi forankrer undervisningen vår i I-CARE-rammeverket, som bygger på fem grunnpilarer: interact (samhandle), challenge (utfordre), act (handle), reflect (reflektere) og embrace (uncertainty) (akseptere usikkerhet). Dette pedagogiske rammeverket, utviklet av Engage, bygger på erfaringspedagogikk og praksisnær læring.

    I den digitale versjonen av kurset er vi spesielt opptatt av å sikre variasjon og legge inn hyppige pauser for å maksimere engasjement og læring.

    Forhåndskrav for alle versjoner av kurset:
    Deltakerne skal være involvert i undervisning i høyere utdanning, og ha levert et forberedende arbeid.

    Spørsmål?
    Kontakt Gunhild Marie Roald på e-post: gunhild.m.roald@ntnu.no

    Bilder og video fra den fysiske versjonen av kurset «Entreprenørskapsutdanning for bedre læring»

  • Course: Entrepreneurship education for better learning

    Course: Entrepreneurship education for better learning

    Who is the course for?

    • For those who teach or would like to teach in higher education across all disciplines

    What will you learn in this course?

    • Think and act more like an entrepreneur
    • Inspire your students to develop entrepreneurial competence
    • Challenge your students to work in interaction with individuals and organizations outside the university

    Courses 2026

    Online course in English:

    June 9th, 10th and 11th 09:00 – 15:00 all three days. Sign up here.

    Ordinary fee: NOK 8.000,-. Invoice will be sent.
    For NTNU/Nord University-employees: Free.

    Physical course in Norwegian:

    May, 12th and 13th 2025. 09.00-16.00 both days. NTNU Campus Gløshaugen, Norway.

    For NTNU/Nord University-employees: Free. Ordinary fee: NOK 8.000,-. Invoice will be sent.*

    Lunch/coffee will be served both days.

    For NTNU-employees, sign up here through the Uniped-program. For others, sign up here.

    How can we make more inclusive local communities? How can we make people change their habits to contribute to a greener society? How can we use artificial intelligence to make more efficient health care services, without losing human warmth and care? To resolve the grand challenges of our time, we need people from different disciplines to think and work together, both in the form of starting new ventures and by creating changes in organizations and communities.

    An entrepreneur is a person who can spot opportunities, create solutions and gather the necessary resources to bring ideas to life, and thus, create value for others. In this course you will learn to think and act more like an entrepreneur – together with people from different disciplines – and you will learn how you can inspire your students to develop entrepreneurial competence so that they can become change agents in their respective contexts during and after their studies.

    The course is offered both in Norwegian and English, both physically and online.

    Entrepreneurship will be taught in a dynamic interplay between theoretical input, individual reflection, problem-solving and discussions in groups. In a friendly and supportive environment, you will train “pitching”-skills and give and receive feedback to other participant’s ideas and presentations. You will learn how to challenge your students to work in interaction with individuals and organizations outside the university. Upon completion of the course, you will have created a plan for how to integrate entrepreneurial aspects into your teaching.

    We anchor our teaching in the I-CARE framework, revolving around the five pillars interact, challenge, act, reflect, and embrace (uncertainty). This educational framework, developed by Engage, leans on experiential learning pedagogy. In the online version of the course, we are extra aware of ensuring variation and give frequent breaks, to maximize engagement and learning.

    Pre-requirements for all versions of the course:
    The participants are involved in teaching in higher education, and have submitted a preparatory work.

    Questions? Gunhild Marie Roald via e-mail:gunhild.m.roald@ntnu.no

    Pictures and video from the physical version of the course “Entrepreneurship education for better learning”:

  • NTNU Student Investor Day: June 5th 2025

    NTNU Student Investor Day: June 5th 2025

    By Henning Philip Patricksson

    Together with Sparebank 1 SMN, 6AM Accelerator, StartupTRD and NTNU we are glad to repeat past years successful event – for the 5th time; the NTNU Student Investor Day!

    Every student-driven startup from NTNU are invited to apply for the event according to the application criterias listed below. Of the applicants, 10 startups are selected to attend the event where they will get to pitch their business idea and be a part of an intense round of speed-dating round with a selection of Norway’s foremost early phase investors.

    New for this year is that we also allow applicants from other universities! We have saved a few extra spots, and would like to invite student-driven startups from our fellow universities across the country to apply for the NTNU Student Investor Day 2025!

    The winners will receive up to 200.000 NOK in prize money, and the winner of “Best Business Concept” also qualifies for the finals of Sparebank 1 SMN’s competition “Fremtidens Verdiskaper 2025”! (Eng.: Value creator of the future) This latter only applies for applicants from NTNU Trondheim and Ålesund.

    This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss!

    Do you want to participate as an investor?
    Click the button below to send an email and apply as an investor. Don’t wait until the last minute, the seats are quickly filling up!

    Apply as investor

    When?

    June 5th 2024

    12:30 – 13:00: Welcome and inspiration
    13:00 – 13:45: 3 minutes pitch frome each startup
    13:45 – 14:15: Break with food
    14:15 – 15:45: 8 minutes speed dating with each start-up
    15:45 -16: 00: Wrapping up at Gruva

    16:30 – 17:30: Shuttle from campus to Tech, Hugs & Rock’n’Roll
    17:00 – 23:00: Tech, Hugs & Rock’n’Roll!

    NB! The program might be adjusted slightly.

    Where?

    Gruva, Oppredningen, NTNU Gløshaugen
    Sem Sælands vei 1, 7034 Trondheim

    What?

    Inspirational talk
    3 minute pitching from startups.
    8 minute speed dates between startups and investors.
    Prize ceremony.
    Mingling, food and drinks.

    Who?

    Student-driven startups from NTNU.
    Exclusive spots for student-driven startups from other universities!
    Norwegian early phase investors.

    Prizes?

    Total of 200.000 NOK!
    Finalist spot at Sparebank 1 SMN’s “Fremtidens Verdiskaper 2025″!
    Participation in the 6AM Accelerator program!

    What is Tech Hugs & Rock’ Roll?

    “Tech, Hugs & Rock’n Roll” is a celebration of the innovation ecosystem in Trondheim, where StartupTRD invites startups, businesses, passionate individuals, and all corners of the community that are dedicated to innovation and technology in Trondheim.

    There will be a prize ceremony, drinks, speeches and a great party. Attendees at NTNU Student Investor Day will be shuttled from NTNU to THRR after the main event is concluded.

    We hope that as many as possible of you will join us continuing the evening there, as we celebrate the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Trondheim!

    More info about Tech Hugs & Rock’n Roll can be found at techhugs.no

    Why NTNU Student Investor Day?

    The goal of NTNU Student Investor Day is to create an arena for student-driven startups at NTNU to meet investors, and vice versa.

    In doing so, we aim to facilitate for the startups to learn more about what investors look for. Even more so, we want to aid the startups to start a dialogue with investors early on – hoping that it will be a stepping stone for them to raise the capital needed to build a sustainable business.

    For 2025 we would also like to extend this invitation across the country, to other universities. In doing so we hope to inspire other parts of Norway to share our enthusiasm for student entrepreneurship.

    Awards

    There are two award categories:

    • Best Business Concept
    • Sustainability Award

    A total of 200.000 NOK will be awarded to the winners.

    The winner of Best Business Concept will also be granted a spot in the final of Sparebank 1 SMN’s competition “Fremtidens Verdiskaper 2025”, with a chance of winning 500.000 NOK! The latter only applies for applicants from central Norway (ie. Trondheim & Ålesund).

    Additionally, one of the participating startups will automatically be accepted into the 6AM Accelerator Program (valued at 120.000 NOK!).

    Read more about 2024’s success and winners here:

    Student Investor Day 2024 – “An invitation to join the next big businesses on their journey” 

    How to apply

    Applications are sendt as a “3-pager” (pdf-format) where all elements listed below should be addressed. You choose yourself how the format and structure of the 3-pager are.

    The deliverable should be maximum 3 pages – hence the name “3-pager”. We prefer that you write in Norwegian, but you may also write in English. Note that the event will be held in Norwegian.

    Value proposition
    Briefly, what is your business idea?
    What value does your business idea offer to the market?

    Team
    Who is behind the idea and why are you fit do succeed?

    Problem
    Which problem(s) do you aim to solve with your idea?

    Solution
    What is your concept, product or service?
    What makes it unique, is it scalable, is it doable, is it new?

    Customer and market analysis
    Who is your customer, user, and what market need do you fulfill? How large is the market, who are the players in it, and how can you address it?

    Business model and value chain analysis
    What does your business model look like, and where do you place yourself in the value chain

    Sustainability
    What makes your idea more sustainable – either environmental, economical or socially – than others in the market.

    Additionally, in the email with the application you will have to answer the following questions.

    Question #1 (max 500 characters)
    What new value will your business idea offer to the market?

    Question #2 (max 500 characters)
    Which sustainability goals does your startup address, and how?

    Question #3 (max 500 characters)
    Why is it important for your startup to meet investors right now?

    Question #4 (max 500 characters)
    What is your business’ connection to the university?
    List your team, their role, and graduation year.

    Thus, the mail will answer the three questions above, and have one pdf with maximum 3 pages attached.

    Click the button to apply before the 30th of April, 23:59.

    Click here to apply

    Requirements for applying startups:

    The majority of the team is required to be a registered student (Bachelor, Master, PhD) at NTNU, or any other Norwegian university, or have been a registered student within the last 12 months (i.e. graduation in 2024). Startups with a clear connection to the universities will be prioritized.

    The same startup can only attend NTNU Student Investor Day 2 times. If the startup applies for a third time, the application will not be considered.

    If you have any questions, send an email to wilhelm.kielland@ntnu.no.

  • Untitled post 11891

    The 3E 2026 Conference promises an unforgettable experience, blending cutting-edge research and educational insights with the breathtaking Arctic surroundings. Get ready for a conference like no other – where innovation meets the northern lights and conversations continue under the midnight sun.

    Calls
    Programme
    Contact

    Conference theme: Developing Change Agents through Entrepreneurship Education
    The urgent need to empower individuals with the skills and mindset to drive positive change for a better future makes entrepreneurship education more relevant than ever. Now is the time to advance the research within this field and delve deeper into its transformative potential. By exploring entrepreneurship education across levels, disciplines, industries, and contexts, we can deepen our understanding of how entrepreneurship education can develop change agents who drive positive social, economic, and environmental transformation. This year’s 3E Conference, set against the Arctic landscape of Bodø, highlights the importance of these questions in regions facing depopulation and environmental change – where entrepreneurship education can play a crucial role in building resilient communities and enabling students to shape their own futures.

    Through an innovative and non-traditional format, the 3E Conference establishes a new paradigm for entrepreneurship conferences. It offers an inclusive setting to fully collaborate with researchers, educators and policymakers to debate and exchange the best practices, the major challenges and novel advances in entrepreneurship education with a special and unique focus on Europe. Unlike more traditional academic events, this conference puts the spotlight on problems and questions; the format is ‘unplugged’ without power point presentations. Instead, engaging round table discussions are held with participants who have read papers beforehand. Further, the keynote speakers are chosen from among the best submission of the participants.

    Potential participants

    Entrepreneurship education educators and researchers, research-based educators from primary, secondary, and higher institutions, practitioners involved in entrepreneurship support programs including trainers, policy makers and program managers, and special interest group representatives from local or international organisations.

    Key dates

    Submission Deadline for Abstracts: 1 December 2025
    Notification of Acceptance: 31 January 2026
    Submission Deadline for Final Contributions: 15 March 2026
    Early-Bird Registration Deadline: 15 March 2026
    Conference: 20-22 May 2026

  • A Portrait of Tendro: Startup Journey, Vision, and Life as Entrepreneurs

    A Portrait of Tendro: Startup Journey, Vision, and Life as Entrepreneurs

    By Vilde Falck Husum

    Co-founders Ida Elise Sandtorp and Ingrid Brandt share insights on their achievements, experiences, and future vision for Tendro.

    Inefficient manual processes and outdated systems met Ida Elise Sandtorp as a newly graduated civil engineer on construction sites in Oslo. Seeing a need that wasn’t sufficiently met, she decided to act on it and applied to NTNU’s School of Entrepreneurship. 

    It was here she met Ingrid Brandt, who originally studied psychology, but went on to NTNU’s School of Entrepreneurship as well. Despite Brandt having no prior experience in construction, they agreed that starting a venture together was the main priority – the specifics would fall into place along the way. Drawing on Sandtorp’s industry experience and knowledge, they started refining their concept even before they had a clear vision of what Tendro was going to be. 

    Today, Tendro offers a muti-tenant platform that digitalizes and streamlines contract management, documentation and change processes within the construction industry. Two years after being founded, Tendro consist of three founders, one full time employee, and two more onboarding in January part-time. Further, they have acquired multiple customers and secured a significant collaboration with OsloBygg KF.

    co-founders of Tendro, Ingrid Brandt and Ida Elise Sandtorp
    Co-founders, Ingrid Brandt and Ida Elise Sandtorp

    A Major Milestone: Piloting Tendro’s Solution with Oslo Kommune

    According to a report from Procore and Dodge Construction Network (2023), 32% of project revenue is lost due to poor change management, something Tendro aims to solve. Going back to Sandtorps industry experience, recent milestones show that their solution is delivering real value to the market.

    Earlier this year Tendro secured a pilot project with OsloBygg KF, part of Oslo Kommune, to implement their product in a construction project valued at over 1 billion NOK.

    The collaboration came about when Brandt, preparing for a summer in Oslo, contacted StartupLab for potential connections. This led to a meeting with Oslo Kommune and their construction team, bringing with them a whole construction project.

    Through the Smart Oslo program, designed to support the development of innovative projects and initiatives for the municipality, Tendro received NOK 800 000 in funding from Oslo Kommune. Together they set some clear goals for their collaboration and product development. “The funding supports direct development for this project, while Oslo Kommune contributes time, expertise, and resources. This collaboration allows us to exchange value effectively,” shares Ingrid Brandt, CMO, and Ida Elise Sandtorp, CEO of Tendro.

    The team behind Tendro: Njål Sørland, Ingrid Brandt, Ida Elise Sandtorp, and Thomas Hasvold

    They make sure to have frequent check-ins on the product and technical aspects to ensure quality and development that align with the set goals for the project.

    They also se a great learning value through their deal with OsloBygg KF, both when it comes to product development, but also processes and practices regarding future collaborations. When it comes to learning, Sandtorp and Brandt have experienced a lot during the last two years, as Sandtorp puts it: “it feels like ten”.

    Achievements, Advice and Being Role Models – Their Personal Take on the Experience of an Entrepreneur

    When asked about their biggest achievement this year, Sandtorp explains how Tendro was selected from over 100 startups to pitch at the Nordic Female Investment Summit in Malmö and that the whole pitching experience and context of the event stuck out to her. However, on a more personal level, winning the Young Entrepreneurship award at Gründerdagen last month was an honor.

    Getting nominated with people you look up to, and then winning is very rewarding. It shows that people from the outside see us and what we do, and at the same time offer an arena for early-stage startups to meet and show off their work – Ida Elise Sandtorp, CEO Tendro. 

    Brandt agrees with her co-founder and goes on to say that business-wise the deal with Oslo Kommune is a stamp of approval. Additionally, she feels it demonstrates their success in identifying a market gap and creating a solution that significantly impacts change management in construction projects.

    Ida Elise Sandtorp on stage

    Their journey shows that you don’t need to have everything figured out to act on a business idea. Sandtorp encourages people to take the leap, even without a clear vision of the finished product as things will change along the way. Brandt agrees, emphasizing that lacking competence shouldn’t hold you back: «I knew nothing about construction but learned from reading and Ida». Now, she’s not just keeping up in meetings but convincing property developers and builders of their value.

    While Brandt is often the only woman in meetings, she doesn’t let it affect her: “That’s the deal”. Together, she and Sandtorp share their experiences through social media and their podcast, Peaker i Startup, to inspire more women to step into these spaces. However, their key advice is to choose your team carefully: “Without a team that’s willing to roll up their sleeves and adapt quickly, I wouldn’t be as confident in meetings” says Sandtorp. Brandt agrees, emphasizing that their team is what makes Tendro both a strong product and a successful company.

    The future plans for Tendro

    Many successful business ideas stem from first-hand experiences, as Sandtorp encountered at the construction site. However, it takes an entrepreneurial mindset to pick up the opportunity and “run with it”. Two years later Sandtorp and Brandt have founded their own company and are expanding both their team and customer portfolio. 

    Additionally, they aim to expand their team, broaden their market reach beyond national borders, and enhance their product delivery across the value chain. They are already looking at potential market expansion beyond the construction industry. When asked if Tendro has a new year resolution and future vision, both Sandtorp and Brandt agree, it should always be fun to be at work. “We will continue to have fun and we will secure funding”, Sandtorp states.

  • IØ6500 Entrepreneurs’ pathway to India

    IØ6500 Entrepreneurs’ pathway to India

  • Intraprenørskap i helsevesenet – nytt EVU-tilbud

    Intraprenørskap i helsevesenet – nytt EVU-tilbud

    Av Gunn-Berit Neergård

    Emnet Intraprenørskap i helsevesenet (IØ6602) er utviklet for deg som ønsker å skape endring fra innsiden av helsevesenet. Kurset gir deg verktøyene til å identifisere utfordringer i egen arbeidshverdag og utvikle løsninger med positiv effekt for pasienter, pårørende, kolleger og samfunnet. Jobber du i en etablert organisasjon som er relatert til helse – for eksempel i en kommunehelsetjeneste, i en sykehusavdeling, eller i en pasientorganisasjon? Da er dette emnet for deg!

    Hva lærer du?

    Gjennom dette forskningsbaserte emnet lærer du å:

    • forstå endringsarbeid i egen kontekst
    • anvende begreper og metoder innen intraprenørskap
    • utvikle og teste egne ideer
    • utforske din rolle og identitet som endringsagent

    Undervisningen er hel-digital og fleksibel, tilpasset turnusarbeid og en travel klinisk hverdag. Du får tilgang til videoforelesninger, tekster og oppgaver for refleksjon og læring. Du blir utfordret til å benytte arbeidsplassen din aktivt i utviklingen av ny verdi. Og du får tilbud om veiledning – både digitalt og ved utvalgte studiesteder.

    For hvem?

    Emnet passer for ansatte i helsevesenet med relevant utdanning og arbeidserfaring. Det er særlig aktuelt for deg som jobber i primær- eller spesialisthelsetjenesten og ønsker å bidra til utvikling og forbedring av helsetjenestene.

    Som Thea Eng Brenden, sykepleier og entreprenørskapsstudent, sier:

    “Her får helsepersonell jobbe med problemer de kjenner fra egen arbeidsplass, og lære metoder for å løse dem. Det kan gi mye tilbake til avdelingen.”

    Thea er tilknyttet emnet som studentassistent og har vært en aktiv bidragsyter i oppstarten av emnet.

    Faglig ansvarlig

    Emnet er utviklet og ledes av Gunn-Berit Neergård, seniorforsker ved SFU Engage. Med bakgrunn som sykepleier, teknologigründer og intraprenør, har hun erfart endringer i helsevesenet fra ulike hold, og hun har selv jobbet i flere år med å skape nye tjenester og produkter som kunne gagne kreftrammede. Hun har i over åtte år forsket på entreprenørskap blant helsepersonell, og sier at kunnskapen har resultert i dette emnet: – Alle mine år med forskning på dette temaet har vist at det mangler læringsmuligheter for erfarne klinikere, både i Norge og i utlandet.


    Nå er altså kurset her, skreddersydd for klinikere med jobb i helsevesenet. Grip muligheten!

    Praktisk informasjon

    • Studiepoeng: 7,5
    • Oppstart: 31. desember 2025
    • Søknadsfrist: 1. desember 2025
    • Undervisningsform: Hel-digital, med mulighet for desentralisert veiledning
    • Kursavgift: kr 9 000 kr
    • Opptakskrav: Bachelorgrad og tilknytning til helsetjenesten
    Påmelding