On 28 November 2025, the Capacity2Transform (C2T) project took part in the International Entrepreneurship Education Summit (IEES) held in Stuttgart. The project was represented by Dr. Clémentine Roth from Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, who delivered an inspiring contribution titled “Not Just Capacity Building – Capacity for Transformation.”
Her talk showcased how C2T supports regions across Central Europe in strengthening their ability to navigate the digital and green transitions. Drawing on lessons from the project’s ongoing pilot activities, Dr. Roth highlighted why transformation requires more than traditional training approaches. She emphasised that real change emerges when organisations collaborate, experiment, and apply creative methods to real-world challenges.
Key messages included:
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Transformation is relational: innovative solutions arise when tourism SMEs and cultural & creative industries work together.
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Learning must be applied: capacity building becomes meaningful when tied to practical challenges and real use-cases.
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Safe spaces enable experimentation: co-creation formats allow participants to test ideas, fail safely, and learn quickly.
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Creativity accelerates change: creative thinking and methods help stakeholders overcome barriers and reframe complex issues.
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Mindsets matter: openness, collaboration, and multidisciplinary exchange are essential for digital-green transformation.
These insights strongly align with C2T’s mission to empower SMEs, CCIs and regional innovation ecosystems. They also feed directly into the project’s two key platforms — MediaFactory and KnowledgeFactory — which share best practices, tools, and methods to support transformation processes across Central Europe.