The University of Turku hosted the 5th EC2U Entrepreneurial Week from 10 to 13 November 2025, bringing together students from across Europe to explore regenerative entrepreneurship and develop new solutions to real-world challenges in international and multidisciplinary teams.

The University of Turku and eight other universities form the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Alliance. Together, the universities work towards strengthening education, research and innovation. As part of this collaboration, the EC2U Entrepreneurial Weeks offer students from all academic backgrounds the opportunity to build entrepreneurial skills through collaborative learning and immersive international experiences.

Getting to grips with sustainability in entrepreneurship

Under the theme “Regenerative Entrepreneurship: Taking Responsibility to Create a Positive Future Together”, the Entrepreneurial Week in Turku invited students to participate in workshops, expert-led sessions and collaborative challenges. The four-day event offered a comprehensive introduction to responsible innovation, creative teamwork and the entrepreneurial mindset, with a particular focus on how businesses can contribute to a positive and sustainable future.

The week opened with greetings from University of Turku representatives and organisers Vice Dean, Professor Jarna Heinonen, Vice Rector Tapio Salakoski, Senior Research Fellow Pekka Stenholm and University Teacher Sanna Ilonen. The participants received information and words of encouragement for the days ahead.

The opening was followed by a panel discussion on sustainable and regenerative business, featuring Professor Elisabeth Berger (Johannes Kepler University), Doctoral Researcher Bertha Osei (University of Turku) and President of Boost Turku Rasmus Mäkinen. The discussion explored entrepreneurial ecosystems, regenerative practices and the current landscape of the local start-up scene.

Challenge-based learning at the core of the week

A central element of the Entrepreneurial Week was the intensive work on real-world challenges provided by partners from different sectors. Throughout the week, students collaborated in international teams to address three challenges. Citymarket Kupittaa invited participants to rethink how digital and physical customer experiences could be combined into a seamless whole. Lyyti challenged the teams to consider how event organisers could be supported in taking sustainability into account in their planning. Åma, a solo entrepreneurship case, asked how a business led by one person could grow and scale without hiring additional staff.

The challenges guided the learning journey of the participants from the first brainstorming sessions to the final pitches. Alongside the challenge work, students joined workshops and talks led by international experts. Sessions by Dr Peter Gustafsson (Umeå University), Professor Ricardo Costa (University of Salamanca) and Sanna Meska (Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland) encouraged students to consider different perspectives on entrepreneurship. Professor Jorge Figueira (University of Coimbra) introduced creativity through the Ikigai framework, and Dr Alexandra Jelea (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University) focused on effective communication. Students also visited the co-working space Konttori and met representatives from Boost Turku to learn about Turku’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Discovering the value of diverse perspectives

Because the students were working closely in teams, the programme also included opportunities for social interaction, such as a sauna evening at Ispoinen Beach, a culture and game night at Kampuskappeli, and a city tour followed by dinner, helping participants get to know one another.

For student participant Hery Andrianina Rakotondrainibe, the week highlighted how teamwork and diversity can strengthen entrepreneurial thinking.

“This entrepreneurial week has changed my image of how an entrepreneur should work. I always thought that an entrepreneur should work alone and could do all the things by himself but as we worked together with the other participants and attendees, I really think that it is important to work as a team and with other people. We get better ideas and better concept and can be more productive when you work as a team,” Rakotondrainibe explains.

“The other thing that I learned is that diversity is a strength and I really think that’s true because when we team up with other participants from other universities, I think it really helped us to get away from our comfort zone and to confront our ideas with other perspective,” Rakotondrainibe continues.

The week concluded with the final pitching session on Thursday. Each team presented its solution to a jury, drawing on everything learned during the challenge journey. After the presentations, the judges provided feedback and announced the winning team.

Although only one team was selected as the winner, all student groups worked hard and produced strong ideas. This was something entrepreneur Sari-Anne Poikkijoki from Åma says was clear from the pitches she received.

“I had three very exciting and interesting pitches from the students. There were a lot of ideas that I can rethink and consider thoroughly and actually I will make some of those happen in real life,” says Poikkijoki.