EIT Alumni at the MCAA Annual Conference and General Assembly 2022

The EIT Alumni Network was delighted to participate at the Marie-Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) Annual Conference and General Assembly on March 27, 2022.

The EIT Alumni communities value and put great emphasis on nurturing and strengthening the relationship with MCAA to jointly connect European and international researchers and innovators for the acceleration of global, multidisciplinary collaboration. In the light of this, the EIT Alumni hosted a session at the MCAA 2022 annual conference in the spirit of the event's theme, Sustainability and the post-pandemic workplace.

The EIT Alumni President, Anca del Río, and two distinguished alumni from the EIT Alumni Network joined the EIT Alumni session "Purpose-driven entrepreneurship through a global lens" to discuss highly relevant matters related to the future of innovation and entrepreneurship such as The concept of Massively Transformative Purpose (MTP) in entrepreneurship, the Quadruple Helix Innovation Systems and the EIT's Knowledge Triangle, leadership and the purpose-driven mindset, the importance of ethical values and moral principles in new business ventures, innovation moonshots and the power of cross-sectoral collaboration and co-creation. As highlighted by the EIT Alumni President, "the EIT – amongst others - is about creating a high-value global network for tackling the most pressing global challenges". During the panel, moderated by Anna Clark, President of Women@EIT, it has been discussed why purpose-driven entrepreneurship is important for the present and future and especially for the EIT Alumni to tackle the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Cristina Aleixendri (EIT Alumna, COO & Co-founder of bound4blue) and Selene Todini (EIT Climate-KIC Alumni Board Member, PhD Candidate in Environmental Policy at the University of Bologna) shared their views and experiences on how they are breaking bias in male-dominated industries and how their journeys led them to advance the concept of purpose-driven leadership throughout their careers.

We are young leaders and future decision-makers putting great ambition and effort into creating a sustainable future for humanity and our planet. Purpose-driven entrepreneurship is key for us to reach our goals and to champion an inclusive growth agenda in all sectors and industries by means of innovation and technology

Anca del Río, President of the EIT Alumni

Watch the EIT Alumni session at MCAA Annual Conference and General Assembly 2022 here!