In October 2025, the Co-LIFE partners from India and Europe came together in Mechelen, Belgium for a week of focused planning, collaboration, and reflection. This marked an important milestone for the project, closing the loop on learnings from Pilot 1 and laying a strong foundation for the launch of Pilot 2 in January 2026.

A Week of Meaningful Dialogue and Co-Creation

Representatives from all eight partner institutions shared insights from their Pilot 1 experiences across Goa and Mumbai. Discussions centred on:

  • What worked well for students, mentors, IFEs, and institutions
  • Key challenges faced during field activities, mentorship, and collaboration
  • Improvements needed in content delivery, communication, and evaluation

The underlying goal was clear — to make Pilot 2 more immersive, more collaborative, and more aligned with real-world sustainability challenges.

Shaping Pilot 2: Focus Areas & Student Experience

The work sessions in Mechelen led to a detailed plan for the coming months. Key next steps include:

  • Finalising the list of new Impact-Focused Enterprises (IFEs) who will collaborate on real case studies
  • Streamlining evaluation rubrics to help track student performance across impact, innovation, and implementation
  • Strengthening cross-country collaboration between European and Indian student teams

Pilot 2 will follow the same action-learning approach as Pilot 1, but with expanded touchpoints for students to interact with entrepreneurs, workshop their ideas, and receive hands-on feedback before final presentations.

Activities Planned for Students

The partners outlined a student experience that blends theory and field exposure:

  • On-ground interactions with IFEs
  • Studio-style collaboration with mentors and coaches
  • Workshops on pitching, system thinking, sustainable business strategy, and user understanding
  • Reflective learning journals and milestone reviews
  • Final capstone presentations directly to the entrepreneurs

The goal is for learners to understand the full lifecycle of building sustainable and socially responsible businesses.

Carrying Forward the Learnings from Pilot 1

Pilot 1 offered invaluable lessons that are now shaping the next phase:

  • Students perform best when given direct contact with entrepreneurs
  • Cross-cultural learning enhances creativity and solution depth
  • Skill development is highest when theory and action happen side by side
  • Sustainability education must include both business viability and social impact

These learnings are now embedded into the planning of Pilot 2, ensuring that student teams are even more equipped, supported, and challenged.

A Shared Vision Moving Forward

The week in Mechelen reinforced the strength of the Co-LIFE model — a global learning ecosystem built on collaboration, co-creation, and impact. Each partner left aligned on a common purpose:
to build the next generation of entrepreneurs and thinkers who can design for people, planet, and prosperity — not one at the cost of another.

Pilot 2 begins in January 2026 at ARCH College of Design and Business (Jaipur) and concludes in March 2026 at ISDM (Noida).
We can’t wait to share what unfolds next.

What Is a Social Enterprise And Why It Matters for the Future of Sustainability

Pilot 2: Sustainable Futures Through Community & Collaboration

Teaching for Impact: GIM’s Faculty Development Program

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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