A recent Erasmus+ staff exchange at FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences (Graz) offered an in-depth look at how innovation and entrepreneurial learning are evolving across Europe. The visit coincided with the Entrepreneurial and Cross-Cultural Competences Case Challenge 2025, where international student teams worked intensively on real industry challenges provided by companies and innovation partners.

Throughout the exchange, EU4Dual partners observed how practice-based learning, direct mentoring, and strong links with regional innovation ecosystems, such as Startup Hub FH JOANNEUM, Science Park Graz and ESA BIC Austria, create authentic conditions for developing entrepreneurial skills. Students learned to navigate uncertainty, operate under time pressure, communicate across cultures and make decisions with incomplete information, reflecting the competencies increasingly needed in today’s fast-changing environment.

The experience also opened new opportunities for collaboration within EU4Dual, including joint course development, expanded mobility, shared mentoring structures and stronger integration of innovation ecosystems into dual programmes. It highlighted how work-based learning and academic excellence reinforce one another when universities, companies and incubators co-create learning pathways.