The municipality of Rotterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam are committed to entrepreneurship. On 11 December, they signed a declaration of intent with which they stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. Both parties invest 150,000 euros per year in cash or in kind. What exactly is going to happen?
One of the goals of our university is to bring knowledge back into society through education and research. One way to do this is through entrepreneurship. New ideas and companies are founded at the university. Afterwards they help solve social problems.
Erasmus Enterprise: helping students become entrepreneurs
Our university stimulates entrepreneurship through Erasmus Enterprise. This is an entrepreneurial community that helps students to transform innovative start-up ideas into successful companies. Liesje Goldschmidt is one of the driving forces behind Erasmus Enterprise: ‘I want to take start-ups a step further. And let students discover their own entrepreneurial skills so that they can set up their own company.’
Free tutoring for all students
Rik Roosenstein (25) is one of those young entrepreneurs in Rotterdam. He gave tutoring during his studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. ‘I noticed that I often visited families who actually could not afford the tutoring. I wanted to do something about that.’
Together with a fellow student, he founded Teachbuddy. How does it work? One student has difficulty with mathematics, another student understands everything about math. The app links students from the same school to each other and they meet at the school for tutoring. ‘In this way, we want to organise free tutoring for students in the Netherlands,’ says Rik.
Teachbuddy has been around for three years. Fifteen schools (five in Rotterdam) now use the app. ‘Students respond enthusiastically. You give them confidence. That pays off. We recently started at a school in Vught with 2,000 students. It is a Dalton school. There you have “free” hours during which students can work together. Those hours are now used for Teachbuddy. The teachers say that they get goose bumps watching the students work together there. You see that students pick it up quickly.’
The students who give tutoring lessons get a free hour, money or a free sandwich in the canteen. Every school approaches this differently.
How does Erasmus Enterprise help with entrepreneurship?
Rik: ‘When we started our company, I didn’t know that the university had support for entrepreneurs. It wasn’t until a year later that we got involved with Erasmus Enterprise, and that really helped to get in touch with other entrepreneurs and contact other students who are also entrepreneurs. Erasmus Enterprise is a place where you can find a “community” as a student about everything related to entrepreneurship.’
Teachbuddy now even has an office on campus in the Erasmus Enterprise building: ‘For questions, we just walk to the Erasmus Enterprise office above us. They always think along with us and are happy to help us. That gives us energy. You also come into contact with investors through the community. I am very enthusiastic about Erasmus Enterprise.’
Solutions for today's problems
The municipality and university are now fully committed to innovation and entrepreneurship. Why? Goldschmidt: ‘We want Rotterdam to be a place where new companies emerge and stay. By investing in entrepreneurship from the university and the municipality, we are making the city future-proof. We encourage young entrepreneurs to come up with solutions for today’s problems. Think of equal opportunities, energy transition or the environment. As a university and municipality, we are committed to this. Young students with new ideas are really needed in this.’
What does that look like in practice?
Erasmus Enterprise organises activities with other partners to stimulate entrepreneurship. Through “Talent for Transition” students get the chance to learn about entrepreneurship in addition to their compulsory subjects.
‘We take students to BlueCity or RDM. There we bring together students from the university and college. They get to work on making business operations more sustainable, learn how to start your own business and brainstorm with entrepreneurs. The municipality is enthusiastic about this programme’, says Goldschmidt.
Erasmus University Challenge & NL Startup Competition
Erasmus Enterprise organises the Erasmus University Challenge & NL Startup Competition every year. Both are competitions in which young entrepreneurs learn to set up and further develop their business. At the University Challenge students can pitch their idea and the Startup Competition is for young entrepreneurs who already have their own business.
Goldschmidt: ‘Through this, these young entrepreneurs are given a platform. They learn how to pitch their idea, meet investors, and receive coaching from other entrepreneurs. The goal is to improve their start-up and to attract investments or to scale up. Ultimately, these programs ensure that the young companies can grow and really make an impact with their work. Often in areas that are important to the city.’
What could be improved?
Of course, there are still things that could be improved in bringing students and entrepreneurship together. Rik has a number of tips for the university: ‘We only found out about Erasmus Enterprise a year after it started. Its awareness could be even better. I also see that as a task for the university.’
‘It is not always easy for a student to be an entrepreneur. I started Teachbuddy during my studies. During my master’s at Leiden University, I had to be present for some subjects. If I had a meeting at a school from Teachbuddy, I had to reschedule. There are often separate regulations for top athletes, but not for entrepreneurs. I do not know how this is arranged at Erasmus University. But these are small things that can stimulate entrepreneurship,’ says Rik.
Tackling Rotterdam's problems
Liesje Goldschmidt of Erasmus Enterprise is proud of entrepreneurs like Rik who are tackling inequality of opportunity in education with Teachbuddy. ‘These are the entrepreneurs who help solve problems. He has completed our program and his start-up is growing fast. It is great to help these kinds of young entrepreneurs. That is what we want as a university and city.’
