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Nurturing resilience of states and societies in its neighbourhood has become a strategic priority for the European Union (EU). This chapter reviews the concept of resilience across different European External Action Service's (EEAS) strategic documents, investigates the means and the ends that accompany it and explores the potential of fostering resilience through entrepreneurship. The latter is becoming a multi-dimensional tool associated not only with economic development but also with peace fostering, responsible citizenship, social innovation, opportunities management, risk-taking, decision-making, problem-solving, creativity, adaptability etc. We examine how entrepreneurship deals with the EU's approach to resilience and whether the EEAS harnesses entrepreneurship potential. This is an interdisciplinary research project bringing together insights from EU studies, diplomatic studies and entrepreneurship. In terms of methodology we use a content analysis approach of primary resources combined with semi-structured interviews with EEAS staff and secondary sources review. Our findings indicate that EEAS could meet resilience goals through entrepreneurship; yet the use of entrepreneurship as a tool for EEAS′ purposes is sporadic, scattered and unidimensional. We suggest that the EEAS should adopt a cohesive strategy for entrepreneurship promotion connecting internal with external policies. Acting this way would also serve the purpose of a more ‘joined-up union’ and reinforce the EU's power of attraction.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mentor training intervention for experienced entrepreneurs in order to support and advise new and early stage female entrepreneurs in an attempt to enrich the limited literature of empirical data in the area of mentor training intervention assessment.

For the evaluation of the mentor training programme, a three‐level process has been used (reactions to training, knowledge and skills, behavior). Empirical research consists of quantitative research and different questionnaires were used to obtain information from respondents on a post basis. The sample consists of 52 mentors (experienced entrepreneurs) and 52 female mentees (early stage entrepreneurs). Descriptive statistics were generated by the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

Mentors responded positively to the training, they acquired knowledge and improved their skills, and they were able to transfer their improved knowledge and skills to their mentoring relationship and to their personal and professional lives.

Findings are based on preliminary research and a more comprehensive evaluation could be devised using pre‐ and post‐programme evaluation and resultant relationships could be further evaluated through a qualitative study.

A mentor training intervention evaluation is needed to enhance delivery of mentoring functions tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs. This study serves as a starting‐point for further research in the field of female entrepreneurial learning and particularly mentor training to policy makers, academics and professionals.

Although the literature on female entrepreneurship, mentoring and training is growing, very little has been done to assess mentor training interventions. The present paper is one of the first to address and explore this issue.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the issue of women entrepreneurs in Greece by looking into personal characteristics and motivation of female Greek entrepreneurs in order to assist Greek policy makers in their future attempts to devise programs to support them in the start‐up phase.

The paper is a review of the entrepreneurial environment and female entrepreneurship in Greece, approached first through an analysis of the existing bibliography and then through the presentation and analysis of data exploring personal characteristics and motivation, drawn mainly from three similarly designed surveys (two of which were designed and carried out by the authors), covering the period 1990‐2000.

It is important that women entrepreneurs are not treated as a monolithic category: rather, policies and programs to support them should begin with a diagnosis of their personal characteristics and motives aimed at strengthening pull motives that comprise a base for more viable and innovative entrepreneurial activity.

The paper's originality lies in its review of the Greek situation, adding more evidence of the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in a different setting.

This paper is an “evaluation” study in the form of an extensive “case study” of one particular business school in Greece. Its alleged contribution focuses on the conclusions it hopes to draw in relation to the evaluation research methodology, based on the case evaluation research, experimenting with the use of students' ratings (SETs). The effect of a number of quantitative variables (expected course grade, student study hours, course difficulty, and instructor grading system) as well as of a number of qualitative variables (student's major discipline and reason for taking a course, and instructor gender and employment status) on SETs are examined in order to provide a basis for restructuring the currently employed evaluation research methodology.

This paper's primary purpose is to emphasize the importance of entrepreneur training regarding creativity and innovation. Their significance and the importance of the latter regarding the development of business and training needs are the research questions of a survey conducted in northern Greece.

The survey, of 116 entrepreneurs, owners of small medium and very small enterprises, investigates awareness, attitudes and perceptions regarding creativity and innovation, for facilitating the design and development of training interventions. Data were collected using modified and extended questionnaires of an analogous tool created for the needs of the TRACTORS project. The questionnaires included both open‐ended and closed questions. Descriptive statistics were generated by the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

Findings suggest that entrepreneurs/owners and/or managers of micro and small medium enterprises in northern Greece are largely aware of the significance of creativity and innovation, believing that these are positively related to each other and interact in the development of their business. Training intervention is deemed as of great importance, and obstacles concerning financial resources, experience, time, infrastructure and not risk averse, were underlined.

Creativity and innovation training interventions for entrepreneurs in terms of process, content, method, duration, trainers etc., is in a fledgling stage and requires further research to determine the “right training intervention mix” serving the needs of the non homogeneous entrepreneurial category.

Although entrepreneurship creativity and innovation are viewed as the “creation of the future”, little has been done to train entrepreneurs to participate creatively in the innovation economy. The present paper traces these needs.

We describe a 13 1/2‐year‐old boy with de novo inverted interstitial duplication 8q22.1‐q21.1 associated with mild phenotypic abnormalities, learning disabilities and autism. Psychometric and psychiatric evaluation was performed. Clinical genetic evaluation was supported by chromosome analysis of blood lymphocytes using GTG‐banding technique and Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome painting 8 probe. Clinical evaluation revealed mild phenotypic abnormalities, moderate learning disabilities and mild autistic disorder. The karyotype of the proband was interpreted as 46, XYqh+pat, 8q+.ish inv dup(8)(q22.1;q21.2)(wcp8+) de novo. Although partial trisomy for other segments of 8q, as well as mosaic trisomy 8, have been described in numerous cases, interstitial duplication of 8q21‐q22 seems extremely rare and the severity of the phenotypic abnormalities ranges from mild to profound.