Barents Region Initiative for Developing Growth and Employability (KO1013 BRIDGE)

The project BRIDGE will enhance employability of university graduates; help to overcome a gap between requirements of SME and students’ competence level. BRIDGE provide firms with opportunity for becoming acquainted with future employees, students for meeting potential employers. Crossborder tourism, critical income source in peripheries, will be main field of action. BRIDGE relies on supporting international knowledge mobility. Existing partnership of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) serves partnership building with SME.

Overall objective is support of youth employment and economic growth by building a joint education platform of Higher Education Institutions and SME’s. International groups of last-year students will write pre-graduation theses for firms, solving tasks in product/service innovation, customer development, market entry. Student competencies span Business and Tourism Management, Information Technology, Law, Language and Intercultural communication. As home country ambassadors, students help solving cross-border business communication problems.