VŠE Is Part of the International ZEEUS Project. Its Task Is to Create a Toolkit for Teaching Social Entrepreneurship

The Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) has joined the international project ZEEUS (Zero Emissions Entrepreneurship for Universal Sustainability), which connects universities, entrepreneurs, and innovators from around the world. The project aims to develop entrepreneurship that has a positive impact on society — that is, business initiatives that generate not only profit but also social or environmental value.

“ZEEUS is truly an international initiative. It brings together universities from both the Global North and Global South, from Europe and Africa. Among the partners is, for example, Stellenbosch University from South Africa, which gives the project a unique intercontinental dimension,” says VŠE’s project coordinator, Lukáš Válek.

“Corporate partners also participate in the project, including the xPORT VŠE Business Incubator. Thanks to VŠE, xPORT brings a practical perspective to the project and supports early-stage entrepreneurs,” adds Válek.

VŠE’s Task Will Be to Create a Toolkit for Teaching Social Entrepreneurship

Within the project, VŠE plays a key role. It is developing a practical teaching toolkit for social entrepreneurship that will help university educators better teach how to develop entrepreneurial ideas with positive social impact. The toolkit will offer specific teaching methods, examples of good practice, and inspiring stories of successful social enterprises. It will also serve as a resource for teacher training scheduled for 2026.

Many activities will be carried out in cooperation with academics from VŠE’s Department of Entrepreneurship and the Department of Managerial Psychology and Sociology, who have long been developing topics related to innovation, sustainability, and students’ entrepreneurial skills. In autumn 2025, focus groups will be held to identify how social entrepreneurship is taught at various universities, what tools educators use, and what they feel is missing in current teaching.

Further Project Activities Will Focus on the Startup Environment

At a later stage, the project will expand to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem and facilitate knowledge-sharing between universities and companies. A new platform called Seed Factory will be created to connect academics, students, business accelerators, and early-stage entrepreneurs. Its goal is to provide space for mentoring, experience sharing, and education in sustainable and socially responsible entrepreneurship. Initially, it will offer webinars and thematic workshops, and gradually it will be enriched with additional tools, content, and collaboration opportunities across the consortium.

According to Michal Andera of VŠE: “We want to focus on creating an environment that helps ideas grow — from early student projects to successful startups,” Andera explains. “ZEEUS connects the academic sphere with practice, and that is exactly what today’s entrepreneurial world needs. Universities can play a crucial role in developing innovations that have real impact.”

The ZEEUS Project Will Run Until April 2027. The aim is to connect academic, entrepreneurial, and societal environments across continents. The result will be a network of universities and organizations that share tools, experience, and inspiration for teaching and developing entrepreneurship with positive impact.