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ENI-CBC Med Programme /

NEX-LABS Summer School

Calling innovators and researchers from Lebanon and the Mediterranean to apply to Berytech’s regional Entrepreneurship Summer School in the Water Food Energy NEXUS Sector under the NEX-LABS project and develop novel startups. 

Applications are now closed.

NEX-LABS Summer School in Brief

Berytech is organizing a 5-day intensive summer school allowing entrepreneurs and startups to turn their innovations in the Water Food Energy (WEF) NEXUS sector into potential startups and explore commercialization opportunities.

The summer school will provide new business perspectives to NEXUS innovators, create potential collaboration across borders in the Mediterranean and help the entrepreneurs develop their entrepreneurial mindset and relevant skills to successfully launch and grow their business.  

The summer school will feature 13 to 15 teams from 7 countries: Spain, Italy, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Cyprus and Lebanon. Teams will be selected to attend the summer school and develop their innovation management, commercialization strategy of NEXUS technologies, business model, IPR and investment pitch deck.  

The Entrepreneurship Summer School will take place towards end of June, beginning July 2022.  

It will be planned over 5 days with fully covered accommodation in an adapted working setting. Travel expenses to Lebanon will be covered by Berytech.  

Who Can Apply?

  • Entrepreneurs, researchers, industrialists, innovators and start-ups working on early-stage projects, innovative solutions and approaches and/or working on technology development looking for commercializing their idea to address the needs and opportunities in WEF-NEXUS sector 
  • University students and alumni from targeted faculties working on business or research projects in the WEF-NEXUS sector in the Mediterranean region 

What Will You Learn?

The summer school will allow the entrepreneurs to gain skills and techniques that will improve their venture’s chances of success in the WEF NEXUS Field.
The training will tackle the below topics:

  • Innovation driver in the WEF Sector. 
  • How to enter the Mediterranean Water-Energy-Food NEXUS and build a thriving innovator cohort. 
  • Understanding the relationship between Water Energy and Food system. 
  • Importance of the NEXUS in the region. 
  • Understanding how the climate change in the Mediterranean is affecting the NEXUS.
  • Hands on exercises and case studies and examples from the region.
  • Business model mapping. 
  • Business model canvas. 
  • Customers and Value Proposition.
  • Market Analysis and Competitors.
  • Products and Services: Offer and Pricing.
  • Introduction: research, innovation, industry, IP, and protection of IP. 
  • Different types of IP. 
  • Patents. 
  • Commercialization strategies.  
  • Validating the Business Model.
  • The Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
  • Review of revenue streams and cost setup.
  • Cash Flow projections.
  • Introduction to funding options and different types of investments.
  • What is a pitch.
  • How to make an effective pitch to investors presentation?
  • Hands on exercises.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Participants should reside in Spain, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, Egypt and Cyprus.  
  • Participants should have an idea, innovation solution or applied research project addressing WEF-NEXUS opportunities. 
  • Participants should be motivated to learn and apply skills learned in future NEX-LABS activities and contribute in shaping the landscape of WEF-NEXUS in the MPCs. 
  • Project should address an important economic, environmental or social need in the WEF-NEXUS context (such as resource efficiency, gender empowerment, resource allocation, community inclusion, yield increase); 
  • Project idea should demonstrate economic viability and combine innovation, sustainability and potential for scalability in the WEF- NEXUS       
  • Project should have at least a proof of concept / prototype (a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate that the concept or theory has practical potential). 

Key Benefits

  • Access to the regional Summer School capacity building. 
  • Opportunity to connect with keys local and regional stakeholders.
  • Receive a set of business and entrepreneurial skills and know-how by top notch international and local experts, including technical and practical guidance, developing a business model, developing market and commercialization strategies, learning about intellectual property, technology protection, technical applications in the WEF NEXUS field, funding opportunities, access to finance, risk assessment and access to risk capital. 
  • Learn to formulate an action plan to transform inventions into a growing business and get an overview of the technology transfer and patent commercialization process. 
  • Access to NEXLABS Project opportunities and networking in the Mediterranean region through team building activities, group case studies and practical workshops. 
  • At the end of the summer school, new opportunities will be presented to the participants under NEXLABS. Participants will have a priority to apply to the testing, innovation and incubation vouchers and their selection will be made based on their commitment, interest and delivery during the summer school. 

Start your application

Please fill out and submit your application before May 22nd, 2022

Applications are now closed

APPLY NOW

The NEX-LABS Project in Brief

An international consortium of 11 partners from 7 different countries across the Mediterranean joined forces to tackle the challenges of a competitive and inclusive growth thanks to a nexus driven approach. 

NEX-LABS project is co-funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme and has the ambitious goal to set up a long-term regional policy of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development.

The project in Numbers

  • Duration: 30 months
  • Start date: 3 September 2020 – End date: 2 March 2023
  • With reference B_A2.1._0124, NEX-LABS project is funded by the EU under the ENI CBC Med Programme
  • With a total budget of €3.450.984,97, the project has received a contribution of € 3.105.866,47 (90%)

Beneficiaries

NEX-LABS targets a plethora of stakeholders, including public institutions such as ministries and national agencies, research centers or universities, SMEs, entities of the entrepreneurship ecosystem such as companies/ technology transfer organizations /technological parks/venture capital/business angels, entities collaborating to the public debate such as communication multipliers/think tanks, civil society organizations.

Meet The Team

Meet the team members in charge of the NEX-LABS Project at Berytech.

Need more info?

If you have any questions about the NEX-LABS Program, please email camille.mallat@berytech.org, and we will get back to you.

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Contributing to SDGs

As a member of the Global Compact Network Lebanon, Berytech enacts the 10 principles of the UNGC and the NEX-LABS Project falls under Berytech’s mission to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

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