University of Coimbra (UC) has been investing in fostering entrepreneurship

amongst the region over the past three decades. It has used the academy as

the epicentre of the major initiatives that have been developed. The initial phase

prioritised the development of infrastructures to support start-ups in the region.

However, in the past 5 years UC has concentrated in the capacitation of all these

assets, namely establishing several integrated immaterial activities, framed by a

structured regional entrepreneurship ecosystem that involves ten core partners and

more than 600 regional stakeholders. This ecosystem is led directly by the UC

Rectory Team and implemented, managed and monitored by the UC DITS (Divis~ao

de Inovac¸~ao e Transfereˆncias do Saber—Knowledge Transfer Unit). According to

the Regional Innovation Scoreboard, the ecosystem and its vision has contributed

largely to position the Centre Region of Portugal as one of the 100 most innovative

regions in Europe. Consequently, the EE initiatives focus on fostering and

supporting nascent entrepreneurs and supporting their companies with the help of

partners from the regional ecosystem. The UC has a strong focus on extra-curricular

activities coordinated by UC DITS in close collaboration with IPN—the university

incubator.