The Delta Management School (DMS, see: https://deltaschool.ut.ee/) team has made significant contributions to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation within the University of Tartu and its broader international community across various disciplines. Here’s an overview of how DMS's activities inspire today’s and future entrepreneurs, innovators, thought leaders, and policymakers.

DMS revolutionised education with its modular program, exemplified by the postgraduate Contemporary Economy program. This approach combines one- and two-year master's programs with micro-degrees in three specialisations, enhancing international teaching quality, efficiency, and fostering creativity among students from diverse backgrounds.

Additionally, DMS offers short-term diploma programs with renowned institutions, such as the "Wharton Global Course in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship," in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, facilitating cross-country learning among executive students. See: https://deltaschool.ut.ee/programmes/wharton-global-course/.

The annual sTARTUp Day, led by DMS students, has become a major entrepreneurship festival, attracting the global start-up community, renowned investors, and featuring a vast start-up expo and networking opportunities. See: https://www.startupday.ee/.

Delta X, a student competition initiated by DMS, challenges participants across all four Delta Centre institutes' disciplines, promoting interdisciplinary activities and enhancing university education among high school students. See: https://deltaschool.ut.ee/en/calendar/delta-x-2022-student-competition/.

DMS also organises TV-show-like events, such as the annual Delta Trends Day, to position itself at the center of economic and societal debates. See: https://deltaschool.ut.ee/en/calendar/delta-trends-day-2023/.

Collaborating globally, DMS partners with programs like the University of Toronto's Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), see: https://creativedestructionlab.com/ & https://deltaschool.ut.ee/en/cdl-estonia/, and provides students with top career opportunities through the annual Delta Career Day, an innovative job market expo. See: https://ut.ee/en/content/delta-career-day-2024.

Established in 1632, the University of Tartu is a comprehensive research university with 160 study programs and 1,200 lifelong learning courses spanning 32 institutes under four faculties: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Medicine, and Science and Technology. As the sole Baltic university within the top 1% globally, it stands as a prestigious institution. The Delta Management School emerged from the 85-year-old School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Tartu, aiming to accelerate internationalisation, emphasize solution-oriented, cross-disciplinary learning and research, and deliver an innovative, entrepreneurial approach to management and economics education.

The launch of Delta Management School is a good example of how to be innovative, pilot and implement new solutions within a large, old and dignified university. This makes it possible to test new solutions with limited risks at the same time and to prepare various innovative, modern and effective solutions for pan-university scaling.

Learning from past and present international best practices, as well as elaborating alternative future visions, is extremely valuable! The Delta Management School's strategy was crafted during the 2021 International Studio in Venice, exploring historical knowledge centres and envisioning an interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial future. The studio included visits to the Architecture Biennale of Venice, analysing exhibits curated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and those from different countries. This two-week experience laid the groundwork for the idea and strategy behind establishing the Delta Management School.

Measuring progress and success is always important! Some of the measurable outcomes include:
• There are between 50-100 entrepreneurial business projects formed and further developed annually via a variety of student competitions (e.g., Delta X and Kaleidoscope), and these are further enhanced through the Delta Management School's sTARTUp Lab and the international deep tech accelerator Creative Destruction Lab (CDL). These projects are then showcased and promoted to potential partners, customers, and investors at various international events, including the 3500-participant entrepreneurship festival sTARTUp Day.
• Entrepreneurship is ingrained in the DNA of the Delta Management School and is applied to student engagement and development in various ways. This includes students volunteering and taking leadership roles in all core and side activities, as well as events organized by DMS. Furthermore, students are encouraged to undertake their creative and innovative initiatives independently. Additionally, students are systematically involved in curriculum development and organizing professional events. For example, second-year executive education masters take full leadership for planning and organizing the annual Delta Economic Conference. Every year, several hundred students actively participate in the school's entrepreneurial and innovation activities through these activities.
• The strategic approach taken in 2021 to establish the Delta Management School has led to an annual growth of approximately 1/10 in student enrolment. In 2023, there were 866 students at DMS, representing a 9% increase compared to 2022. Among these, 233 were foreign students, constituting 26% of the total student body, and 451 were postgraduate students, accounting for 52% of all students.

Less is more! One important learning point from the launch of Delta Management School is to carefully consider in advance why, with which partners and also how to innovate in one or another area. This means more advance work, better focus, top-performing partners who see the mutual benefits of joint ventures. Which is also true, you also have to say no to many things and give up a lot of the usual in order to allocate time and resources for the necessary activities. This is for the sake of a better end result, whether it is higher quality education in line with market needs, interdisciplinary and problem-solving research, or service to society and partnership with companies

Finally, fuelled by its leaders and empowered by Delta Media House, DMS employs cross-media storytelling to spread these principles and magnify its influence within and beyond the school community. This dynamic approach extends its reach not only among current students and faculty but also to prospective students, employees and partners locally and internationally. Through engaging and immersive storytelling across various platforms, DMS endeavours to weave a compelling narrative that not only captivates and informs but also strengthens the sense of community and collaboration within the school and resonates with potential partners worldwide.

The DMS team displays agility in responding promptly to environmental challenges, innovating diverse solutions that, among other impacts, have aided not only the school but also other institutes and partners within the university and outside in adapting to changes. A notable example is the swift response during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within three months, DMS organised the Delta Trend Day 2020, a CNN-style event titled "New Business and Life Models Emerging from the Covid Crisis." Conducted across five pop-up TV studios in the Delta Centre, this event was a proactive initiative and was broadcasted on all major TV platforms in Estonia, reaching well over 10,000 real-time viewers. As the models developed during the launch of Delta Management School are initially designed with a longer view and continuity in mind, the Delta's Trend Day has since become an annual series, delving into pressing societal issues, gathering top experts in various fields, and providing solutions to intricate global challenges. The upcoming Delta Trend Days have been organised around the following topics: "Reinventing a 400-year-old University for Talent" in 2021, "The New Economic World Order" in 2022, and "Artificial Intelligence: Hype, Revolution, or Innovation as Usual?" in 2023.

After the launch and testing of various innovative solutions, the following period will deal with the permanent embedding of innovative initiatives and formats in Delta Management School and its culture. We are also looking for ways to create greater synergy between and within different activities and programs, thereby improving cost efficiency and increasing the quality and impact of educational programs, research and other activities. At the same time, the best practice is being spread both inside and outside the university, both domestically and internationally.

Delta Management School is willing to work with the Triple E Awards team and partners to share its experience in radical innovation of management and economics education with other universities and policy makers globally.