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Pilots

The pilots of the European Social Innovation Campus serve as a practical testing and refinement phase for the curriculum developed within the project. Building on the competencies identified through the qualitative research (see reports Explaining competence clusters and Emerging profiles), all consortium partners collaboratively co-design a structured curriculum aimed at developing high-quality online courses in the field of social innovation.

To ensure the relevance, effectiveness, and usability of this curriculum, a series of pilot activities are implemented. These pilots involve selected target groups who engage with the draft course content in real-world learning settings. Through their participation, valuable insights are gathered on both the substance and delivery of the material.

The feedback and learnings generated during these pilot phases are systematically analysed and used to further improve and fine-tune the curriculum. This iterative process ensures that the final set of online courses is closely aligned with the needs of learners and stakeholders, and reflects practical, user-informed enhancements.

At a Glance

👥 Total participants: ~600

🌍 Countries involved: Finland, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, Belgium, Norway, Estonia, Spain, Ireland

🧩 Pilot strands: 5

📅 Timeline: October 2025 – December 2026

Strand 1:  

VET & Higher Education Student Training

📍 Countries: Finland, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, Belgium, Norway, Estonia

👥 Participants: ~262

📅 Timeline: February – December 2026

🎯 Focus: Developing and testing social entrepreneurship training and work-based learning for VET and higher education students

This pilot focuses on equipping students with practical social entrepreneurship skills through hands-on and work-based learning approaches. The goal is to bridge theory and practice while testing how training content performs in real educational settings.

More information:

Strand 2:  

Master-Level Training & Trainer Upskilling

📍 Countries: Estonia, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, Finland, Belgium, Norway

👥 Participants: ~68

📅 Timeline: March – December 2026

🎯 Focus: Advanced training for master’s students and re-/upskilling of entrepreneurship educators and trainers

This strand targets both learners and professionals who deliver entrepreneurship education, strengthening their capacity to teach and support social innovation effectively.

More information:

Strand 3:  

Flexible Learning Models & Educational Modules

📍 Countries: Spain, Finland, Romania, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy

👥 Participants: ~120

📅 Timeline: May – December 2026

🎯 Focus: Designing and testing flexible, adaptable learning formats for education and labour market actors

This pilot explores innovative delivery formats and modular learning approaches that can be applied across different institutional and professional contexts.

More information:

Strand 4:  

Incubation & Acceleration Programmes

📍 Countries: Ireland, Finland, Italy

👥 Participants: ~50

📅 Timeline: October 2025 – December 2026

🎯 Focus: Supporting students, early-stage entrepreneurs, and social innovators through incubation and acceleration

Participants engage in programmes designed to help develop and scale social innovation ideas, with a strong emphasis on practical entrepreneurial skills.

More information:

Strand 5:  

Guidance & Counselling Services

📍 Countries: Romania, Norway, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Ukraine

👥 Participants: ~100

📅 Timeline: February – November 2026

🎯 Focus: Developing support programmes for education providers, employment services, and social enterprises

This strand strengthens guidance systems that help individuals navigate pathways into social entrepreneurship, both within and beyond formal education.

More information:

Frequently asked questions

A pilot generally refers to a small-scale, preliminary test or trial run of a project, product, or process before a full rollout. Its purpose is to validate assumptions, identify potential issues, and gather feedback in a controlled environment. In this case we are testing the co-designed content with Design Thinking Methodology in a participatory design phase.

The ESIC Accelerator offers valuable networking and mentorship opportunities. Participants receive a certificate that validates the potential of the social innovation. The program concludes with a final event day, providing you and your project with visibility at a European level.

No, there are no cash grants associated with the ESIC Accelerator Progamme.

Howspace is an AI-powered digital collaboration and social‑learning platform designed to facilitate meaningful engagement and collective sense‑making at scale. ESIC is using howspace as the learning platform for all its pilots.

No, individual written feedback will not be available for programme applicants.

Don’t worry – you don’t need to produce a high quality or expensive video. You can use a smartphone or tablet. We just want to hear you telling the story of your project in 2 – 3 mins max. Please tell us:

● who you are
● why you are applying for the award
● the problem/issue your project is trying to solve
● how you will do that
● how your solution is innovative or creative.