Broader impact

The purpose of the pilot, beyond the immediate impact of the project on the 140 SMEs, is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new model of experiential learning on the job in higher education that will in the first instance inform the broader portfolios of the participating HEIs. It is a model that will enable effective interaction on a more sustained basis between Higher Education and SMEs, something that has proven very difficult so far. Not only will the model build a stronger culture of interaction between SMEs and HEIs, it will provide a vehicle for more rapid acceleration of international growth for SMEs and stronger international networking and learning for SMEs.

Through the activities of the dissemination Work Package, the model will be explained and reported on to a wider network of HEIs, especially through EURASHE and the UIIN, and the wider impact of the project will principally felt through its emulation.