EKA University of Applied Sciences (Ekonomikas un kultūras augstskola) is a partner in an international project Accelerating ICT students′ start-up development competence via interdisciplinary modular courses in the HEI curricula (project acronym – Uxiship).

UXiship project would enhance practical oriented learning to ensure parallel development of soft skills (teamwork, communication) as a part of virtual mobility and hard skills (ICT competence), along with providing future employers student record on problem solving.Main target group: engineering students. Indirect project′s beneficiaries are industry partners, non-profit organizations and policy makers.

Project consortium involves EU partner universities, partner universities from Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Project period – November 2019 – November 2022.

EU partner universities:

• Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
• Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia)
• EKA University of Applied Sciences (Latvia)

Partner universities from Russian Federation:

• Kazan National Research University (named after Tupolev)
• Rostov State University of Economics
• Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University

Partner universities from the Republic of Kazakhstan:

• Kostanay State University
• Almaty Management University
• Caspian State University

The consortium is setting the following objectives:

• revise and update under EU universities’ supervision the contents of ICT curricula;
• define learning outcomes that should evolve as a result of ICT-based entrepreneurship module implementation in ICT majors curricula;
• update partner countries universities staff knowledge in accordance with industry challenges, guest lecturing and internships;
• create online scalable model of ICT-based entrepreneurship hard and soft skills development module that can be implemented in partner countries;
• enhance ICT competence by wide involvement of engineering and technology students in learning-by-doing IT-practices including block chain, internet of things, automation etc.;
• develop manual for updating engineering curricula around ICT-based entrepreneurial module including project implementation and acceleration elements;
• elaborate guidelines for recognition of joint ICT-based entrepreneurial module within ECTS credit system in partner countries;
• implement ICT-based entrepreneurial module in ICT university curricula in partner universities.

UXiship is financed and supported by the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Union Capacity building in the field of higher education (Project ref. No. 609870-EPP-1-2019-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP).