The experimental lab: a tool for entrepreneurial university

The overall goal of this work is to provide a contribution to the studies that aim to boost the entrepreneurial activity of universities, exploring whether the experimental lab could be an effective tool to support aspiring entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into real start-ups. The experimental lab is a network of entrepreneurial individuals from universities, research labs, financial markets and industry who become part of an innovative ecosystem in order to sustain entrepreneurship. Starting from the assumption that university has to leave the “ivory tower” in which it has been isolated from reality and that, instead, it has to assume an active role in favouring entrepreneurship, this research has adopted a concrete approach, investigating the structure of experimental labs as tools supporting universities in their entrepreneurial vocation. Basing on literature review and on a focus group, we designed a virtual platform for an experimental lab, to be concretely tested in its functioning by a simulation (role play).