INVEST launches start-up coaching course for researchers

INVEST Research Flagship Centre has launched a new start-up coaching course aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship among researchers and staff in the social sciences.

According to INVEST Director Professor Jani Erola, the course is designed to help researchers see entrepreneurship as a viable option alongside academic careers.

“Entrepreneurship is still relatively rare in the social sciences, but there is clear potential for business ideas in our field as well,” Erola said. “From the very beginning of INVEST in 2019, the business dimension has been part of the flagship’s mission.”

All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in the spring, when Erola and Controller Jasper Saarinen began planning the course together with Boost Turku and the Unit of Entrepreneurship at the Turku School of Economics.

The course is open to all INVEST staff, from doctoral researchers to professors and administrative personnel. Participants did not need to have a concrete business idea to take part in the first session; instead, a shared interest in entrepreneurship brought around ten researchers together for the opening workshop.

The training is led by Lauri Koittola from Boost Turku. He noted that Boost has previously delivered similar coaching primarily for students—especially in technical fields, but also in the humanities and business studies. Recently, however, interest among researchers has been growing.

“This is the first full start-up coaching course we have organised specifically for researchers. Previously, we have only offered shorter modules,” Koittola said.

The course consists of four thematic sets, with the three December sessions forming the first module. The opening sessions were highly engaging, and the next steps will be shaped together with the participants as the course progresses.

With this initiative, INVEST is strengthening entrepreneurial skills within its research community and positioning itself at the forefront of promoting research-based entrepreneurship in the social sciences.