The ESCP Turin Campus Blue Factory initiative has been shortlisted for the Lifelong Learning Award at the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2026.
From Zero to Startup Senior, an entrepreneurial learning initiative led by the Blue Factory at ESCP Business School's Turin Campus, has been shortlisted for the Lifelong Learning Award at the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2026.
Launched in Turin in 2024, the programme gives adults at different stages of their careers the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial capabilities by taking an idea from its earliest stages towards a viable project. The six-month pathway is free to participants and designed to fit alongside professional and other commitments.
Its selection for the Lifelong Learning Award recognises an approach in which entrepreneurship serves a broader educational purpose: helping people continue learning, adapting and developing new capabilities throughout their careers.
Entrepreneurship is a powerful learning experience because the startup method teaches you to challenge assumptions rather than accept 'we've always done it this way'. You learn to listen, test ideas and change direction when the evidence tells you to. That mindset is equally valuable whether you are launching your own startup, leading a new project within an organisation or reskilling for your next professional challenge. It gives you a practical way to experiment, adapt and keep learning throughout your career.
Head of Blue Factory Italy at ESCP Business School
Learning entrepreneurship from zero
From Zero to Startup starts before the traditional incubator or accelerator stage. Participants do not need to arrive with a startup, a team or even a fully formed business idea.
Instead, each cohort works through the entrepreneurial process from the beginning. Participants identify problems, interview potential users, test assumptions, develop prototypes and make decisions based on the evidence they gather.
Across 100 hours of learning over six months, they develop skills including opportunity recognition, customer discovery, critical thinking, teamwork, public speaking and evidence-based decision-making. AI tools are also incorporated into activities including research, brainstorming, planning, coding and pitching.
The format has been designed with adult learners in mind. In-person sessions take place on Saturdays, complemented by weekday evening sessions and continuous online mentoring, allowing working professionals to participate without putting their careers on hold.
Opening entrepreneurial education to a wider community
Accessibility is central to the programme. From Zero to Startup is free and open to adults from different educational and professional backgrounds, including working professionals, people considering a career change and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Since its launch in 2024, the first two editions have attracted more than 500 applications, with 120 participants selected across two cohorts. Each cohort has been supported by 40 experts and 20 mentors, with more than 60 organisations contributing to the wider ecosystem around the programme.
Its reach extends beyond those selected for the six-month pathway. More than 30 free public events have attracted over 2,000 attendees, widening access to entrepreneurial learning across the local community.
The initiative is led by ESCP and the Blue Factory, its startup incubator, with support from Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo as ecosystem developer and the Turin Chamber of Commerce. Founders, investors, mentors, incubators and other innovation professionals contribute directly to the learning experience, connecting participants with current entrepreneurial practice.
Skills that extend beyond starting a company
For From Zero to Startup, creating a business is one possible outcome, rather than the programme's only measure of success.
The entrepreneurial process gives participants a practical setting in which to learn how to experiment, collaborate, respond to uncertainty and evaluate evidence. These capabilities can be applied to launching a company, changing career or developing new projects within an existing organisation.
Some ideas do progress further. Five startup teams from the latest cohort are continuing their development with partner incubators or through Blue Factory. Others are taking the methods and skills developed during the programme back into their professional lives.
Learning also continues through the community built around the programme. Participants remain connected through Demo Days, ecosystem events and Blue Factory and partner networks, while alumni can return to support subsequent cohorts.
Lifelong learning as part of ESCP's wider ambition
The shortlist comes as ESCP strengthens its focus on flexible and inclusive forms of education. The School's Bold & United 2026–2030 strategic plan includes a commitment to championing lifelong learning and accessibility alongside its degree programmes.
From Zero to Startup provides one example of what that can mean in practice: opening ESCP's entrepreneurial expertise and ecosystem to learners beyond its traditional student community and creating opportunities to learn at different stages of a professional life.
For its next edition, the programme plans to broaden access further, including removing the upper age limit, while strengthening its focus on AI literacy, social impact and international participation.
Relevant links
Campuses