The programme is taught by ABS lecturers Jonathan Sitruk and Lien De Cuyper. With around 90 students from various University of Amsterdam (UvA) faculties (and even other Dutch universities), the minor Entrepreneurship is an accelerator-like university programme that focuses on the creation of a startup.  The minor also offers hands-on workshops (about pitching, online lead generation, growth marketing etc.), site visits, and regular coaching sessions to follow up on progress. It also teaches entrepreneurship theories and engages with practical case studies.  The goal is to teach students how to build a thriving start-up.

Impact and sustainability

This minor is an excellent example of creating impact through education. Students in the programme learn about entrepreneurship and are encouraged to develop sustainable initiatives. The course concludes with student teams pitching their startup idea to a jury of experts on Demo Day.

Demo Day winners

In the end, there were 4 startups who made it to the Demo Day finals:

• Hanga Studios: a startup that manufactures sustainable clothes hangers from textile waste;
• SayHello: a platform that helps to connect professionals at large-scale networking events;
• Student Step-up: a platform that matches students with meaningful internships in startups and scaleups;
• Rond Amsterdam: a startup that specialises in the upcycling of leather, and turns leather waste into sustainable, elegant cardholders.

The Jury prize of 1,600 euros was awarded to Hanga Studios, while the Audience prize of 600 euros went to SayHello. These prizes were awarded by UvA Ventures Investment Manager Ross Gordon. The 4 finalist teams also ‘won’ an office space at REC Impact, the UvA hub that develops innovative ideas that have an impact on society. These office spaces were made available by Erik Boer, Programme Director of Impact at the UvA.