One of the ways to achieve this goal is the applied doctoral programme focusing on management, which was opened in 2022 and is one of a kind in Estonia. The study programme, which is referred to as ‘entrepreneurship doctorate’ in EBS, integrates academic knowledge and business practices with a view to linking research to the needs of real organisations. Mart Habakuk believes that in the future, at least a quarter of those completing the entrepreneurship doctorate could be either founders or option holders in a new science-based company. “As an added value, we are cultivating good educators for Estonia who have both research and business experience,” Habakuk hopes.
Continuing on the links between education and business, it is worth mentioning that Lauteri Street has long been home to more than just education and research. Incubators and business accelerators are increasingly finding their place at EBS to bring new ideas, services and products to the real world. For example, Startup Wise Guys, founded in 2012, and Beamline Accelerator, established a few years later, operate in the EBS building. Cleantech Estonia also operates under the roof of EBS.
Mart Habakuk hopes that EBS’ cooperation with business accelerators could result in the birth of some hundred new companies a year. “We still have a long way to go to reach this goal, but I’m sure it will be a very exciting journey, as many start-ups and researchers are looking for solutions to problems that no one has yet been able to solve or the solutions for which have not been implemented well enough.”