Lapland University of Applied Sciences, together with nine European partners, has launched a new initiative to advance sustainable entrepreneurship. The aim is to integrate innovation and entrepreneurial activity with artificial intelligence and a virtual innovation and development environment, the Metaverse Incubator.

The pan-European AI4GreenBus project brings together universities, vocational institutions and industry representatives to co-create new ways to support and teach sustainable entrepreneurship and the development of sustainable business models. The ten project partners come from Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, France and Romania.

The novel study modules developed within the project will strengthen innovation and entrepreneurial skills among teaching staff, students and the business sector alike. In these modules, artificial intelligence and the green transition are linked to entrepreneurship in a practical manner. Learning is built around multidisciplinary teams, company challenges and real-life experimentation – not solely lecture-based teaching.

Multidisciplinarity, Business Challenges and Real-Life Experimentation at the Core

Companies are involved in defining needs, testing solutions and utilising the results. Through multinational collaboration, new learning and testing environments are being developed where students, teachers and companies can jointly pilot new solutions, for instance in the use of data, artificial intelligence and sustainable business practices. The Metaverse Incubator is a three-dimensional virtual environment where users operate as digital avatars and, supported by AI, can develop, test and pilot sustainable business ideas.

Tarja Tammia, Head of the Responsible Services Expertise Group at Lapland University of Applied Sciences, notes that the project offers an excellent opportunity for both Lapland and the university:

– By investing in sustainable entrepreneurship and combining it with new technological tools, we are creating the conditions for the future and continued success of business and industry both in Lapland and across Europe, she emphasises.

The project’s content development is led by Senior Lecturer Anzelika Krastina from Lapland University of Applied Sciences. She explains that the goal is to build a new kind of competence ecosystem around sustainable entrepreneurship, the green transition and artificial intelligence, with a strong focus on impact:

– It is important to us that the results do not remain within the partner institutions alone, but instead contribute to building a European cooperation network and have a broader influence on the development of education and industry.

Securing Alliances for Innovation funding for Finland and Lapland is a significant achievement in itself. According to Project Manager Eeva Helameri, this is one of the most competitive funding instruments within the Erasmus+ programme, requiring strong European partnerships and demonstrated strategic impact:

– Having the project coordinated by Lapland UAS strengthens Finland’s and Lapland’s position as frontrunners in the green and digital transition. It also shows that impactful innovations can emerge from the North and extend across Europe, Helameri notes with delight.

Project Information

AI4GreenBUS – Business Model Innovation with Artificial Intelligence for Urgent Green Agenda – Educate to Innovate project is coordinated by Lapland University of Applied Sciences. From Finland, Vocational College Lappia is also participating. Other European partners include Turiba University (Latvia), Luleå University of Technology (Sweden), FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry LTRK (Latvia), AMRO Baltic (Latvia), Riga Trade Vocational Secondary School (Latvia), Université de Caen Normandie (France) and Cluj Innovation Park (Romania).

The funding programme is Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation. The project runs from 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2028. The total budget is €1,290,119, of which the EU contribution covers 80 per cent.

The project kick-off meeting was held on 16–17 February 2026 at Luleå University of Technology, bringing together 30 representatives from the project’s ten partner organisations.