- LISS24

Project News

Erasmus+ CBHE LISS24 project consortium members at ATSU

On May 20, 2026 Akaki Tsereteli State University hosted Erasmus+ CBHE project LISS24 consortium member universities for a day of workshop, networking and cultural activities in Kutaisi, Georgia. The program began with a welcome speech followed by the workshop. Official meetings and networking sessions took place to encourage more active cooperation among participants. Later, guests joined a city tour and sightseeing activities to explore Kutaisi cultural and historical attractions. The event focused on strengthening academic cooperation, professional connections and cultural exchange among the consortium members. The project “Learn-Innovate-Sell-Succeed LISS24” aims to enhance B2B sales competencies and foster innovation capacities at universities in Armenia and Georgia, particularly in the field of engineering within the new digital era. The project is coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland).

Eastern Partnership Innovation Competition in Georgia

On May 19, 2026 Akaki Tsereteli State University academic staff and students from the Faculty of Technical Engineering participated in the Eastern Partnership Innovation Competition within the framework of the Erasmus+ CBHE project LISS24 organized in Georgia on the premises of Georgian Technical University. The teams were formed by the participants of the local innovation competitions held in Georgian and Armenian universities. 11 student teams and 30 student participants from six LISS24 partner universities participated in the competition. Invited international experts provided teams with themes and challenges. Students worked in teams and created new solutions to proposed societal challenges. The event was organized to showcase the work completed during local-level innovation and sales competitions in Georgia and Armenia and to give the students an opportunity to meet their peers from other universities. The teams from Akaki Tsereteli State University presented two projects: “Smart House,” and “Smart Waste Bin with Automatic Separation System”. The students are participants of the course “B2B Sales in Engineering” developed within the framework of the LISS project and now being offered as an elective subject for the VIII spring semester students majoring in “Construction” educational program at the Faculty of Technical Engineering. The next Eastern Partnership Innovation Competition will be organized in Armenia in June, 2026. The project “Learn-Innovate-Sell-Succeed LISS24” aims to enhance B2B sales competencies and foster innovation capacities at universities in Armenia and Georgia, particularly in the field of engineering within the new digital era. The project is coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland).

Meeting with Business Representatives in the frame of LISS Project

A meeting with the representatives of Businesses in the frame of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building LISS Project at the Faculty of the Technical Engineering at Akaki Tsereteli State University took place on May 30, 2025. Representatives of the construction businesses LTD Zumi, LTD Atlantic Sakartvelo, LTD Karibtche, LTD V.D.K, LTD Dagi+ were participants of the meeting. The meeting was also attended by the alumni of the faculty that are at present employed in the businesses. The aim of the meeting was on one hand, to share information about the LISS project, the course that was developed and the laboratory for the B2B sales, and on the other hand to get feedback from the business representatives based on their experience. Business representatives informed about a position of sales engineers that has become recently available at the construction companies. The information about the new course and B2B lab arose interest in students, and they expressed their interest in the course and the lab activities. The business representatives discussed and listed the skills in the field of sales that they are seeking for in the applicants that would like to be employed in their companies. The Erasmus + CBHE Project Learn – Innovate – Sell – Succeed (LISS24) is aiming at increasing B2B Sales and innovation capacity of Armenian and Georgian universities, especially in the field of engineering in the new digital era.

Academic Comeback: GSSI 2026 Conference in Ancona

A while ago, I decided to step back into academic research after spending more than a decade mainly in the private sector. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. My earlier academic work dates back to the late 2000s and early 2010s. After that, my focus shifted increasingly toward business, entrepreneurship, board work, and practical development projects. Research remained in the background. Fast forward to 2026. I've now attended my second international academic conference within a year. Even more importantly, I already have my first new peer-reviewed publication out after a long break. Not a bad start for an academic comeback. This week, that journey took me to Ancona, Italy, for the GSSI: Global Sales Science Institute (GSSI) Conference 2026. The conference itself was a good one. We discussed topics ranging from AI in B2B sales and sales talent development to onboarding, commercial excellence, sales communication, and the future of sales education. I also had the opportunity to present our poster on AI adoption in B2B sales, co-authored with the man & legend himself Timo Holopainen .(Turku University of Applied Sciences) In addition, Johannes Reiterer presented a paper we co-authored with several colleagues (about online negotiations). However, what I enjoyed most was not the presentations. It was the people. It was a pleasure to meet so many great people. Like f.ex. Thomas Berger, Stefan Wengler, Jaap Feijen, Arend-jan Diephuis, Jaakko Metsola, Rasmus Kej Åradsson, Per Ivar Seljeseth Ph.D., Jarkko Niemi, Michael Skriver, Pia Hautamäki, Carl Thong, and many others. With many of you, we had inspiring discussions not only about sales, research & education, but also about life in general. Like always, the best conversations took place during dinners and coffee breaks. Based on my experience, those (more or less) informal conversations often create the most valuable ideas and future collaborations.And, naturally, sports found its way into many conversations too. Given my background, it seems to be present everywhere I go. Looking back, the conference reinforced something I've been thinking about for a while: the most interesting questions in sales today IMHO sit at the intersection of technology and people. My current research interests are increasingly focused on: 🔹 AI in B2B sales 🔹 Sales education 🔹 Sports business And speaking of memorable experiences... Our journey from Turku to Ancona turned into a complete travel catastrophe. Delays, missed connections, rerouting, and far too many hours spent in airports & trains. What should have been a relatively straightforward trip ended up taking 35 hours. Fortunately, good company, plenty of laughs, and a few well-earned beers helped us eventually reach Italy. 🍺 If we met in Ancona, let's stay connected. And if you're working on any of these topics, I'd love to exchange ideas. 🤝 hashtag#GSSI2026 hashtag#B2BSales hashtag#ArtificialIntelligence hashtag#SalesResearch hashtag#SalesEducation hashtag#TUAS

Back home from Georgia, and feeling very grateful!

Last week, our Learn-Innovate-Sell-Succeed (LISS24) -Project consortium gathered in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi for the LISS24 Partner Visit & Workshops in Georgia. At this phase of the project, it is genuinely rewarding to see not only how much we have achieved together, but also how our cooperation has developed on a more personal level. Cliché or not, many of us are no longer just project partners in the traditional sense. We have become colleagues, trusted collaborators and, in many cases, friends. Perhaps there is no need to draw such a strict distinction in the first place. A very warm thank you to our Georgian friends and hosts at Georgian Technical University, Akaki Tsereteli State University and Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University for your hospitality, excellent arrangements and inspiring discussions. Georgia is a lovely country, and one of the great advantages of my job is the opportunity to see new places, meet wonderful people and learn through real encounters. A special highlight of the visit was the Eastern Partnership Innovation Competition, where student teams presented impressive ideas and showed creativity, courage and entrepreneurial thinking. Congratulations to the winning teams, and warm thanks to everyone who contributed to making the event such a success. It was a pleasure to share this week with so many committed LISS24 colleagues and partners, including f.ex. Ruijing Wang, Gabriel Songel, Gizo Partskhaladze, Tatevik Yedoyan PHD, PMP®, Varazdat Hovhannisyan, Huaan Fan, Alexander Eigner, Boris Gitolendia, Giorgi Mikiashvili, Eduard Demetrashvili, Luka Kemoklidze, Dr. GIORGI KATAMADZE and all others! ❤️ And of course, it is always great fun to travel with my beloved colleagues from Turku University of Applied Sciences, The Shaman of Turku Harri Lappalainen and Pinja Palm. Good company makes even the longest travel days much lighter. Thank you to everyone involved for making this visit such a memorable and meaningful part of the LISS24 journey. hashtag#LISS24 hashtag#ErasmusPlus hashtag#CBHE hashtag#Georgia hashtag#EasternPartnership hashtag#Innovation hashtag#Entrepreneurship hashtag#HigherEducation hashtag#B2BSales hashtag#CapacityBuilding hashtag#InternationalCooperation

Warm greetings from Georgia! 🇬🇪

The LISS24 consortium recently gathered in Georgia for the LISS24 Partner Visit & Workshops in Georgia, held in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi on 18–22 May 2026. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our Georgian host universities — Georgian Technical University, Akaki Tsereteli State University and Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University — for their excellent arrangements, warm hospitality and active contribution to the project work. A special highlight of the visit was the Eastern Partnership Innovation Competition, where 11 student teams and nearly 30 student participants from six LISS24 partner universities presented innovative ideas and solutions linked to real-life business and societal challenges. Congratulations to the winning student teams! We also warmly thank all participating students, mentors, jury members and organisers for making the competition such an inspiring and high-quality part of the LISS24 project. The Georgia meeting was also an important step in reviewing project implementation, collecting evidence for upcoming deliverables, strengthening quality assurance and supporting the next stages of dissemination and reporting. Together, we continue to build B2B sales, innovation and entrepreneurial capacity across Armenia and Georgia. LISS24 is co-funded by the European Union. hashtag#LISS24 hashtag#ErasmusPlus hashtag#CBHE hashtag#EasternPartnership hashtag#Innovation hashtag#Entrepreneurship hashtag#HigherEducation hashtag#B2BSales hashtag#CapacityBuilding hashtag#Georgia

“Innovative Business Ideas Generation - 2026” at NPUA

Within the frames of Erasmus+ LISS24 (Learn-Innovate-Sell-Succeed) project “Innovative Business Ideas Generation” courses, ended by internal competitions student competition, were organized in the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA). Course classes with full participation of 23 NPUA students started on March 30, 2026, and ended on April 10. Based on the experience of the previous year, the 2026 training classes phase was organized within a shorter period and in a more intensive format compared to the previous year. The main training phase was conducted over a two-week period, in the format of three meetings per week, with each meeting lasting 1.5 to 2 hours. Within the classes, the participants were involved in thematic lectures, lively discussions, group work and practical assignments. The course was focused on three key areas: creative thinking, comprehensive business impact assessment and business modelling. These components provided the theoretical base for generating competitive, market-oriented business ideas. The practical learning process included the application of ideas-generation and innovation modern tools, including brainstorming, design thinking, mind mapping, market research and customer needs analysis, business model development, pitch preparation and presentation practice. Students also had the opportunity to meet business professionals and learn from practical experience related to the commercialization of ideas. Interactive and game-based learning methods were used to make the sessions more practice-oriented and to help participants critically test the strengths and limitations of their ideas. The emphasis was placed on the understanding that an innovative idea is valuable only when it addresses a real problem, creates value for a specific target group and can find its place in the market. The course concluding inter-university “Innovative Business Ideas Generation” competition was held on April 17, at NPUA, served as the final practical stage of the training course, during which students presented the innovative business ideas developed throughout the training process. A total of 5 student teams, composed of 12 students, participated in the competition. The evaluation of presented innovative idea-projects was carried out by the Evaluation Committee composed of the representatives from the Armenian business sector and Project partner universities. The submitted ideas were assessed according to the preliminary developed and spread among participants evaluation criteria, including innovation originality, market analysis and feasibility, quality of business model development and its presentation, communication and team interaction skills, as well as the ability to deliver a convincing presentation. As a result of Competition, the following student teams were nominated as the winners: ✓“Perseus” team was awarded 1st place – an electronic device intended for programmers and engineers to test development, and verification of various ideas. ✓“Air Purification Station” team, 2nd place - an air purification station operating on the principle of ionization and providing significantly lower construction and operating costs, ✓“Collage” team, 3rd place - a platform that, through an AI toolkit, helps students in their ideas’ design, advertising, and marketing making the ideas more attractive. All three team members, as well as the other competition and training participants receieved certificates of winners and participants correspondingly. Also, as it was annonced preliminary, the first 2 winner teams gained the right and represent NPUA in the similar Eastern Partnership Games held in Tbilisi on May 19, 2026, again within the frames of LISS24 project. This successful pioting on international stage should be considered as a quite tangible result of LISS24 in a whole and of this two-year campaign of trainings and internal competitions aimed at the further promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and international cooperation of students, in particular.

“B2B Sales” Training and Competition 2026 at NPUA

A two-week “B2B Sales” intensive training started at NPUA on February 23, 2026 and ended on March 6, 2026. The classroom sessions were followed by a phase aimed at assessing the participants’ preparedness and addressing the identified gaps. During this phase, the training participants also met with NPUA students who, in January 2026, had participated in the first European online EOBN Sales Competition who shared the gained experience with the training participants and gave them some practical reccomendations. To provide information support for the recruitment of training participants a broad preliminary information campaign among NPUA students was carried out. Relevent emails were sent to the university email addresses of all NPUA students, and a relevant announcement was posted on the official website and social media platforms of the university. Information was also shared through the communication channels of the Student Council and direct information meetings were held with student groups. To conclude the campaign, on February 18, 2026, a final information meeting was held for more than 60 students who were presented with the training schedule, content, and other relevant details and additional clarifications. During the training sessions, active and interactive teaching methods were applied, including group discussions, teamwork, case studies, role-playing exercises, sales simulations, and practical assignments. All these helped students develop knowledge and practical skills in customer profiling, negotiation, objection handling, and sales presentation. Following this phase, the students were given one week to improve their sales skills and to work on real sales cases. During this period, the students met with experts on a daily basis and received individual practical consultations and reccomendations on the subject.The main purpose of such methodical approach to the “B2B Sales” training was to equip students with real life knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for effective B2B communication, customer needs identification, sales presentation and negotiation. The course was designed to combine theoretical knowledge with practical exercises, enabling students to apply sales techniques in realistic business scenarios. The course concluding “B2B Sales” competition was organized in two separate sessions on March 12 and 13, with the actual participation of 9 competitor students in total, selected from 19 full class participants. Fully identical scenario for both competition sessions was developed and provided for all 19 potential participants preliminary. Before the competition, the participating students met twice with representatives of the marketing service and engineering team of “RPE Controls” and became acquainted with the services, products, and comprehensive solutions offered by the enterprise. Evaluation criteria were developed and presented, prelminary as well, to the Judge Jury composed of five representatives of business and partner universiteis. As a result of two-day competition, the following students were nominated as the winners and received appropriate Winner Certificates: ✓Anna Vardanyan was awarded 1st place, ✓Anna Aleksanyan - 2nd place, and ✓Vahe Simonyan - 3rd place, while all other students who took part in the «B2B Sales» competition and/or trainings also receieved corresponding certificates of participant. As it was annonced preliminary, all three winners of the held NPUA internal competition gained also the right to represent the University in the «B2B Sales» international competition (Eastern Partnership Games) to be held in Armenia within the frames of LISS24 project by end June.