The Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) of the University of Cyprus with the support of PwC Cyprus, present the 2021 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum: "Higher Education: The Third Mission".

The 2021 Forum will bring together academics, researchers and professionals, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs offering an engaging opportunity to discuss the role of education in Entrepreneurship, the development and exploitation of research and innovation and the evolving strategies to fulfil the so called "Third Mission" in an Entrepreneurial University.

"Universities' Third Mission"

There is a growing pressure for academic curricula and research activities to respond to the needs of society and economy. To address the growing societal and economic challenges in addition to the traditional missions of scientific enquiry (research) and human capital development (teaching), the so-called 'third mission' has become a major policy concern in higher education in recent years. As a result, universities are increasingly engaged in a broad range of knowledge exchange activities, and are expected to act as key contributors to the economic and social development of their local and regional ecosystems.

The Third Mission has two key priorities:

- targeted use and transfer of research results to help resolve diverse economic and societal challenges

- transfer of technologies and innovations in the form of cooperation with public and private enterprises