“C-Accelerate Plus”: An International Platform for Creativity and Innovation

Join “C-Accelerate Plus” – A European Institute of Innovation and Technology-Funded Project Opening New Opportunities for Student Entrepreneurship and Creative Initiatives

The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA), together with international partners, has secured €1,340,000 in funding for the C-Accelerate Plus project through the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s (EIT) Higher Education Institutions (HEI) Initiative. The project aims to strengthen higher education institutions’ capacity for innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and promote closer collaboration with business and societal sectors across Europe.

C-Accelerate Plus is part of FilmEU Cosmos, a broader ecosystem of initiatives connecting education, research, and innovation within the FilmEU Alliance of European higher education institutions specializing in creative and cultural industries. LMTA joined FilmEU in 2023. The alliance strives to unite universities training the creative professionals of the future, foster international cooperation, and create an innovation-driven environment for study and research.

“This achievement demonstrates LMTA’s active involvement in international innovation networks and positions us as a key partner in creating new opportunities for students and the wider creative industries sector,” says Daina Smolskutė Urbanavičienė, Project Lead.

C-Accelerate Plus – Creativity, Ideas, and Implementation

Building on the expertise of partner institutions and leveraging the experience of the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), C-Accelerate Plus nurtures entrepreneurial potential within the arts. It supports academics, students, and creative professionals in transforming artistic concepts into sustainable projects and businesses while maintaining disciplinary integrity.

Guided by the concept of “radical creativity” (Gilson & Madjar, 2011) – encouraging ideas that break away from established norms – the program strategically fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, reshapes networks, and harnesses creative friction to inspire ambitious and socially relevant innovation.

Aligned with the EIT funding framework and integrated into the broader goals of the FilmEU alliance, C-Accelerate Plus seeks to embed entrepreneurship as a cornerstone of Europe’s future university ecosystem.

The project’s mission is to strengthen the creative sector, enhance young professionals’ employability, and position participating universities as European leaders in arts-based innovation. Partner institutions bring extensive expertise in entrepreneurship education – including design-business integration and industry-embedded programs – enriching the project’s potential. The strategy is rooted in practical examples, guided by the HEInnovate self-assessment, and shaped through the development of an Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP) to ensure a focused and impactful approach.

Key Activities

• Experiential Entrepreneurship Training – Interdisciplinary courses, mentorship, and practical learning enabling participants to move from concept to implementation.
• Project Acceleration – Tailored support, prototype development, and market validation for creative projects through partnerships with cultural organizations, festivals, venues, publishers, and more.
• Institutional Capacity-Building & Knowledge Transfer – Enhancing university services in intellectual property, business modeling, and stakeholder engagement to support the journey from concept to stage, screen, or market.
• Ecosystem Development – Connecting students, researchers, cultural partners, investors, and public sector actors to foster lasting cultural, social, and economic impact.

Get Involved with C-Accelerate Plus

• For Cultural Partners (festivals, venues, publishers): Co-create pilot projects, host showcase events, mentor teams, or commission project outcomes.
• For Students & Staff: Join multidisciplinary teams, gain access to mentorship and incubation, and test projects with industry feedback.

Project Lead: Daina Smolskutė Urbanavičienė, Head of Arts Management Department, LMTA.

Project Partners:
COFAC / Lusófona University (Lead Partner, Portugal); Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design + Technology (Ireland); LUCA School of Arts (Belgium); Tallinn University (Estonia); Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Lithuania); National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krustyo Sarafov” (Bulgaria); Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (Slovakia); FilmEU Association VZW (Belgium); SP TELEVISAO, SA (Portugal).

Associated Partners: VIA University College (Denmark); Aalto University (Finland).

Contact: LMTA Project Team – matas.samulionis@lmta.lt

More information about project:
https://eit-hei.eu/projects/c-accelerate-plus/
https://www.filmeu.eu/news/c-accelerate-plus-driving-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-in-european-creative-education

 2025 09 02