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Business Incubator from ASEM In September 23, 2005, within ASEM was founded the Business Incubator. First of all it was found the location than it was preceded to its building which was decorated according to demands of a business centre. It consists of 6 offices furnitured with the necessary equipment, 2 modern conference rooms, one kitchen, where people can drink a cup of coffee or tea. All these things where put at the disposal of the first residents, the expenses being barred by ASEM. THE FIRST The admition terms were very tough. For the right to be eligible to start up your own business, have an office, the applicants were to hand in a good business plan, a motivation letter which was supposed to convince the Committee of Mentors that the idea is sustainable, has an innovative character, it is original and that they, the residents, have the necessary skills and abilities to run a business. But it was one more thing: the psychological moment. All the beginning is hard. There were many skeptics even envious ones, but the time arranged them all. For the future an emphasis will be put on the creation of the corporate culture of the new comers, it will be also made some improvements of the individual skills focused on personal abilities of the residents. The incubator will monitor the development of a business infrastructure capable of facing the competitors pressure, the improvement of the incubated SME access to information, to consulting services and financing sources. We have in plan to set up a Club of the Business Incubator graduates, which will have as a purpose the offer of the real support to its current residents. It will also contribute to the growth of the competitiveness of the economic firms, the growth of the working places, to the correlation of the Incubator with other economic entities from the country. The Business Incubator from ASEM is meant to take care of the new ASEM students enterprises, helping them to survive and expand in the first phase when they are the most vulnerable. The Incubator offers: Management assistance Financial access and technical support services The rental of the adequate space and flexible rent conditions for the ASEM students The basic office services Access to the equipment Organizes round tables on the topics of the business development Offers consulting services for the residents Assists the specialists from the field

The objectives of the Business Incubator are: The encouragement of the entrepreneurship through instruction and assistance of the young businesspeople Assistance in the formation and development of start-ups Creation of the working places

Offer of the life based experiences for the students Assistance to the development and growth of the business Connecting small businesses to the big ones Encouragement of the entrepreneurship among students

SUCCESS A total of 17 incubated companies, more than 60 working places and currently 9 firms perform on the local market. FOR THE FUTURE To develop a new specialized training system based on knowledge and good practices in the management of high-tech business and to disseminate it across Europe through a multinational training network, seminars and learning materials. To develop, test and apply on-line training methodology for standard and personalized (self-training and tailor-made) courses based on a case studies database, identified needs, knowledge and experience of the partners, and constantly maintained feedback from the beneficiaries. To create an easy-to-learn virtual environment for continued professional development of entrepreneurs and managers of innovative and high-tech SMEs. It will be realized through setting up an e-Learning site called European Virtual Incubator (EVI) and providing a set of on-line services - group standard or tailored made open classrooms, on-line selftraining sessions, group discussions, multimedia supported sessions, conference and chat sessions, frequently asked questions (FAQ), publications and bibliography database.