In a competitive knowledge-based environment the role of creativity in new product development (NPD) has increased. The university as the provider of scientific and technological knowledge has become a key player in NPD, as a supplier of knowledge and human capital and as the physical space for new enterprises. The boundaries between science and technology, university and industry are in flux. This article therefore examines the environmental, strategic and organizational factors influencing innovation in NPD process on an example of an Academic Virtual Enterprise (AVE) that was applied in a design course called European Global Product Realization. AVE represents a creative working environment for students, where they act as real professionals in solving a real-life design problem
