First Students Graduate from European Climate-Change Innovation Master’s Programme

London, United Kingdom, December 06, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The first group of graduates from a new pan-European climate innovation master’s programme are being awarded their degrees this year, with the first 10 students graduating at a ceremony in Poland this winter.

The qualification was set up in 2010 by Climate-KIC - the EU’s main climate innovation initiative - and is embedded in two-year master’s courses across Europe. The programme provides a new generation of students with the skills to bring innovations to mitigate and adapt to climate change to market.

A pioneering group of 25 Climate-KIC master’s students are set to graduate at Climate-KIC partner universities this year.

The qualification was set up in 2010 by Climate-KIC - the EU’s main climate innovation initiative - and is embedded in two-year master’s courses across Europe. A pioneering group of 25 Climate-KIC master’s students are set to graduate at Climate-KIC partner universities this year.

Students are immersed in a multi-disciplinary environment of climate innovation and entrepreneurship and are put in touch with like-minded people who, by joining forces and combining different disciplines, will accelerate the development of climate innovation over the coming years.

“The first Climate-KIC graduates are a huge achievement for our community. This shows that top universities can collaborate with businesses, start-ups, governments as well as each other to develop highly networked change agents,” says Climate-KIC’s Eleanor Saunders, deputy education director, “These graduates will shape our green society.”

The first group of graduates received their degrees on 22 October at Climate-KIC’s Innovation Festival 2013 in Wroclaw, Poland. The festival was held over three days and included corporate showcases, workshops, plenary sessions and the European finals of Climate-KIC’s Venture Competition for clean-tech start-ups.

Climate science and entrepreneurship
Graduates of the programme are certified by Climate-KIC and EU-body the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), allowing future employers and collaborators to recognise that the graduate is aware of climate change issues, the European business environment, and has the team skills to successfully integrate in climate innovation companies and start-ups.

Student are required to take part in a five week summer school, attend a thought-provoking series of seminars, spend 30 study credits abroad, write their thesis on a topic related to climate change and entrepreneurship, and take local courses in climate science, business and entrepreneurship.

The summer school is one of the key parts of a student’s commitment to a Climate-KIC master’s degree. It takes five weeks over the summer break and is spread out across three countries. It involves attending workshops with innovation company representatives, scientists, engineers and politicians, as well as developing a business idea with other students – and pitching it to an expert jury.

At the forefront of climate innovation
The Climate-KIC Master programme is a unique approach that is set to put Europe at the forefront of climate innovation as the industry sector grows and thrives in the years to come.

Marvin Kant, one of the recent graduates, is looking forward to this bright future for European businesses and feels the programme will have wide-ranging effects: “There is a really big potential in Europe already in terms of more efficiency, fewer emissions and behavioural change.”

“I think there’s a high potential in Climate-KIC for making climate change innovation a role model in Europe, and then spreading it to countries where it could have even more impact,” said Kant, who graduated with a Climate-KIC EIT Industrial Engineering Master from Climate-KIC partner Technische Universität Berlin.

The Climate-KIC Master programme
Climate-KIC’s student intake has increased since the kick-off of the groundbreaking programme in 2010, with the 57 students who enrolled in 2012 expected to graduate next year.

In 2013, 100 students enrolled across Europe and are set to graduate in 2015. Climate-KIC works with broad and growing set of master’s programmes across four locations. Currently, students can study for a Climate-KIC Master degree in Germany, France, The Netherlands and the UK.

In France the universities Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, École Polytechnique, L’Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Agro ParisTech participate in the programme. In the UK Imperial College London offers the Climate-KIC degree. In the Netherlands Utrecht University, Wageningen University and Delft Technical University participate. In Germany, Technische Universität Berlin offers the programme.

Europe's largest public-private climate innovation partnership
Climate-KIC is the European Union’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on mitigating and adapting to climate change. Climate-KIC consists of dynamic companies, renowned academic institutions and the public sector.

The organisation is headquartered in London and uses is centres across Europe to brings together partners on innovation projects, to support start-up companies and to educate students to bring about a connected, creative transformation of knowledge and ideas into products or services that help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Climate-KIC is one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) created in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the EU body tasked with creating sustainable growth.

Climate-KIC currently has centres in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK and is represented in the regions of Valencia, Central Hungary, Emilia Romagna, Lower Silesia, Hessen and the West Midlands.