EIT launches EUR 12 million call to boost innovation and reskilling in European Higher Education

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and coordinator EIT RawMaterials are launching a new call under the ‘EIT HEI Initiative’ aimed at boosting innovation in higher education.

The newly announced call will mobilise up to EUR 12 million of EIT funding for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their partners. A new feature of this year’s call will be a special focus on training tech talents in higher education, aligned with the EIT’s new flagship programme: Deep Tech Talent Initiative, set to skill one million European talents by 2025.

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: ‘With the help of the EIT HEI Initiative, higher education institutions are transforming into leading examples of institutional change and becoming deeply embedded in our pan-European innovation ecosystem. Initiatives like this directly support the New European Innovation Agenda, which is working to transform Europe into a global, deep-tech innovation powerhouse.’

Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chair of the EIT Governing Board, added: ‘As an educator and scientist myself, I have witnessed first-hand the important role of universities in driving innovation, reskilling, and upskilling to meet the demands of the future of knowledge transfer. With rapid advancements in technology, universities need to react swiftly in delivering skillsets to students that will allow us to see more innovators emerge from their programmes. The EIT HEI Initiative is here to help higher education institutions keep at pace, unlock their innovation and entrepreneurial potential, and connect to Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem.‘

Up to 16 projects based on consortia consisting of academic and non-academic organisations will be selected in the newly launched call. HEIs and their partners from across Europe (including Horizon Europe associated countries) are encouraged to apply and join the EIT HEI Initiative network. This call for proposals builds on the success of the initiative’s two previous calls, which together awarded nearly 50 projects involving over 290 HEIs and 300 non-academic organisations (companies, research centres, public authorities and associations). HEIs from Ukraine are especially welcomed to apply to the call.

Organisations are encouraged to start preparing their application by reading the full call text available now on the EIT HEI Initiative website. The application system is now open, applying consortia will have until 28 February 2023 17.00 CET to submit their applications. The selected projects will be announced in May 2023.

To present the EIT HEI Initiative’s new call in more detail and answer applicants’ questions a series of webinars will be held. The webinars will cover eligibility requirements, evaluation, and administration. Register now for the info sessions below:

• Call general overview: 17 November 2022, 11:00-12:15 CET (register by 16 November, 13:00 CET)

• Quality expectations and the deep tech focus: 5 December 2022, 15:00-16:30 CET (register by 2 December, 13:00 CET)

• Open question-and-answer session: 10 January 2023, 15:00-16:00 CET (register by 9 January 2023, 13:00 CET)

• Open question-and-answer session: 7 February 2023, 11:00-12:00 CET (register by 6 February, 13:00 CET)

The EIT HEI Initiative is led by EIT RawMaterials, an EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community.  The past year alone, projects have trained over 9 900 students, academic and non-academic staff and have supported over 310 start-ups and scale-ups in a vibrant ecosystem in which HEIs act as hubs that create systematic impact, re-imagine entrepreneurship education, and drive innovation around Europe.