From 9-13 February 2026, the Institut Supérieur Agronomique de Chott-Mariem hosted the MOBILISE post-return bootcamp, titled “L’Accélérateur d’Éco-Innovations - De L’Inspiration international à l’impact local”, whose main objective was to transform concepts from the immersion phase into viable, technically robust, and financially structured business models, ready to be integrated into the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Strengthening academic capacity

The first phase of the bootcamp focused on engineering support and skills development for academics. Seven lecturers participated in an initial training session, with four of them actively mentoring students throughout the programme. A key focus of the training was helping lecturers shift from a traditional academic role towards a mentoring and coaching approach when supporting student innovators.

Participants were introduced to concepts such as eco-design, life-cycle thinking, and the distinction between the roles of teacher, mentor, and coach. They also experienced practical tools, including Design Thinking, Lean Startup validation methods, and the Green Business Model Canvas, which helped them understand that successful agro-innovation projects require not only technical feasibility but also economic viability and environmental sustainability.

Accelerating eco-innovators

The second phase brought together nine selected students (67% females) from horticulture and related programmes, with diverse academic levels ranging from bachelor’s and technical degrees to master’s programmes, which enriched peer learning and created a great mixture of research-oriented perspectives with strong technical and practical expertise.

Over four elaborative days, participants applied Design Thinking and “learning by doing” methodologies to pivot their ideas into structured, bankable, and feasible concepts. By the end of the bootcamp:

• 6 innovative projects were structured and pitched

• 5 projects were selected for further coaching towards financing

• A strong focus was placed on climate resilience, circular agriculture, and resource efficiency.

Projects addressed key national challenges such as water scarcity, soil degradation, and agricultural waste valorization. The winning concept, HAGEN, proposed glasswort cultivation using seawater irrigation, which would aid with Tunisia’s acute water stress.

Beyond ideas: towards implementation

The bootcamp concluded with a Demo Day where participants presented thier projects to a jury composed of ISACM academic staff and project coordinators. Each team pitched its concept and received feedback on the technical feasibility, market potential, and environmental impact of their ideas, ensuring that projects were assessed not only on creativity but also on their potential or real-word implementation.

Beyond the pitching session, the bootcamp marked an important step in tnsforming student ideas into concrete entrepreneurial pathways. The selected teams will further refine their business plans and explore inancing opportunities, with the mentoring from acadeic staff and MOBILISE experts, to bring htier porjects closer to implementation