The EIT Higher Education Initiative Call is offering up to €1.25 million per project over 18 months, with a total budget of €40 million, to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship capacity in higher education, focusing on manufacturing and deep tech. It will support projects that help universities develop innovation and entrepreneurship skills, improve technology transfer services and build stronger links with businesses.
Projects will focus on three key areas:
- STEM talent for innovation and entrepreneurship: Developing innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual property skills among students and staff in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and related fields.
- Institutional capacity for knowledge valorisation and innovation: Strengthening universities’ ability to turn research and knowledge into innovations, including through improved technology transfer, intellectual property management and support for startups.
- Integration into innovation ecosystems: Building stronger links between higher education institutions, businesses, research organisations, investors and innovation networks, particularly in manufacturing and deep tech.
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Funding is available to consortia led by higher education institutions, bringing together organisations from across the innovation ecosystem to strengthen innovation capacity. To apply, you must form a multi-organisational partnership, or consortium, that combines the expertise and capabilities needed to achieve the Call’s objectives.
Your consortium must:
- Have at least 5 partner organisations, all based in Horizon Europe-eligible countries (this includes the UK)
- Include at least 3 HEIs from 3 different Horizon Europe eligible countries
- One of them must be from an EU Member State
- Include at least 2 business / industry partners (incl. networks and associations)
Eligible partners may include:
- HEIs
- Businesses / industry
- Associations / networks representing industry or business
- Research organisations
- TTOs and KTOs
- Public bodies and networks
- Intermediary organisations
- Social enterprises and NGOs
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Funding: up to €1.25 million per project. This can cover up to 100% of costs: co-funding is encouraged but not required.
Project duration: 18 months (1 May 2027 – 31 October 2028).
Funding can support:
- Developing and implementing innovation action plans
- Designing and delivering entrepreneurship and innovation programmes
- Providing training, mentoring and capacity-building activities
- Establishing or strengthening innovation structures within higher education institutions
- Building partnerships and strengthening innovation ecosystems
- Supporting technology transfer, knowledge valorisation and start-up creation
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The Call aims to strengthen HEIs as drivers of manufacturing and deep-tech innovation by connecting three dimensions: STEM talent development, institutional innovation capacity and ecosystem integration.
Projects should develop the competences needed to innovate and commercialise knowledge and technologies; strengthen the institutional structures and processes that support innovation and entrepreneurship; and connect HEIs with businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, research organisations and other relevant innovation actors. The aim is to create more connected and sustainable pathways from research and knowledge to validation, commercialisation, industrial application and market uptake.
The Call has three interconnected Policy Objectives:
- Develop STEM talent for deep-tech and manufacturing innovation, by strengthening the innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual property (IP) management competences of STEM students, academics and staff.
- Strengthen higher education institutions (HEIs) as institutional drivers of innovation from research to market, including through stronger institutional capabilities and pathways for knowledge valorisation, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, commercialisation and industrial application.
- Connect HEIs to regional and European deep-tech and manufacturing innovation ecosystems, strengthening collaboration with industry and other relevant innovation actors.
Projects must contribute to all three Policy Objectives. However, the approach, activities and expected results should be tailored to the needs, priorities and maturity of the participating HEIs.
STEM broadly covers the following fields of education under the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED):
- Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics (field 05).
- Information and Communication Technologies (field 06).
- Engineering, manufacturing and construction (field 07).
Related interdisciplinary fields and studies are also included, as specified in the Call. Projects should demonstrate the relevance of their target groups and activities to manufacturing and deep-tech innovation.
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The first info session will be held on Wednesday 4 November 2026, 3pm-4.30pm CET (2pm-3.30pm UK time). Click here to book a webinar place.
EIT also offer a matchmaking tool for finding consortium partners. Registration will remain open until the deadline of 13 January.