Tata presents an afternoon panel discussion on April 10, 2018, which aims to bring together industry experts, entrepreneurs and individuals passionate about the ecosystem to explore what can be done to improve the startup ecosystem across Europe, in order for the next generation of entrepreneurs to succeed.

The ‘Tata, Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship across Europe’ event will take place in collaboration with long time partners the National Association of Colleges and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) and hosted by TEAMLABS. The event will conclude with an exclusive opportunity for student entrepreneurs to participate in a series elevator pitches with the most popular pitch winning a prize.

The free panel discussion will include topics such as the role of universities in the startup ecosystem, startup support available for Europe’s next generation and the key themes in building a sustainable ecosystem of support.

Furthermore, the evening will also include pre-registered student entrepreneur elevator pitches, with the winner being voted by the audience and winning a prize from Tata.

Why hold an event in Spain? Madrid in particular, is a secret hub for entrepreneurship, with many fast growing startups creating bases there due to the accessibility of European markets. Additionally, ‘Tata, Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship across Europe’ hosts, TEAMLABS, is the only official provider of the Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovations (LEINN) for entrepreneurs in Spain, working in collaboration with Mondragon University.

Tata has always been committed to innovation and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs through the various initiatives taken by the group. In the UK, Tata has been in a long term partnership with NACUE to bring the Varsity Pitch Competition, which is one of the UK’s leading graduate entrepreneur pitching competitions, with the winner receiving £10,000. In India, Tata has an initiative called Tata First Dot powered by the National Entrepreneurship Network, which is the country’s first recognition and mentoring platform for student startups. Additionally, innovation has always been championed within the group with the annual InnoVista competition. InnoVista is a group-wide competition that recognises innovators and encourages innovations in the 100+ individual Tata companies across the globe.

Dr David Landsman OBE, executive director, Tata Limited, commented, “Tata is proud of its long-standing partnership with Spain, in key sectors from communications to industrial engineering and consultancy. With a highly-skilled workforce, Spain is also well placed to make an important contribution to many of our global businesses.

Spain is without doubt one of Europe’s most exciting ecosystems for entrepreneurs. Working with and encouraging new businesses is important for Tata companies as we strive to take a leading role in the industries of tomorrow. We’ve been helping to build a new European network of entrepreneurs through our partnership with NACUE and TEAMLABS. It’s great to be extending that network to Madrid and we look forward to working with new partners and friends.”

Holly Knower, CEO of NACUE added, “NACUE are proud to have been invited to partner with Tata to facilitate a series of panel discussions on Student Entrepreneurship across Europe as part of ‘Tata, Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship across Europe’. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our partners, TEAMLABS and European Institute for Entrepreneurship (EIE) for their involvement in this exciting event, designed to inspire young people.’

Ibai Martínezl, Co-founder of TEAMLABS, said, “TEAMLABS mission is to build a global network of conscious entrepreneurs, creating enterprises with sustainable impact. We are honoured and proud that Tata and NACUE, by inviting us and making us part of their process, have chosen to join us on this inspiring journey. We are looking forward to building on this together.”