Endrit visit

A visit by Dr Armiyash Nurmagambetova from Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan to the University of Birmingham in March 2019, has led to a number of exciting outcomes and developments relating to Dr Endrit Kromidha’s work to develop entrepreneurship education in universities in central Asia and the Caucasus.

 The visit was an opportunity for colleagues from Kazakhstan to experience what the University of Birmingham does with regards to teaching entrepreneurship and business, instilling entrepreneurial skills among students, teachers and researchers, helping to create business ideas and business development, as well as commercializing research results.

 During the visit, Dr Nurmagambetova was able to meet with WE LEAD Centre Director, Professor Kiran Trehan, Business Start-up Manager Mohammed Ali, and Alison Sharp, Assistant Director for Innovation, who shared ideas on effective business education systems and developing strategic partnerships with SMEs and local community organisations.

 The visit was part of the Creotalents project, founded and directed by Dr Endrit Kromidha, which is funded by the British Council Creative Spark programme.

 Following the visit, there have been a number of further activities and developments:

Dr Kromidha and Dr Nurmagambetova have led on a research and policy forum with practitioners and policy-makers supporting entrepreneurs in Nursultan (former Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan). The event was informed by the visit and research data collected about entrepreneurial intention in creative industries.

 Dr Kromidha’s personal research expertise on crowdfunding success factors was translated into a hackathon-type one-day training of real creative entrepreneurs. The sprint-like collaborative format was designed to help develop their entrepreneurship skills by working on a crowdfunding simulation.

 A strategic meeting was held with the Vice-Rector of Eurasian National University to discuss future opportunities for research collaboration and further exchange visits.

 If you would like more information about this work, please contact Dr Endrit Kromidha