EIT boosts innovation with presence in Brussels

EIT Community now has a permanent presence in Brussels. 

The EIT House, which officially opened yesterday on Rue Guimard, gives the EIT Community a permanent presence in the heart of Europe. The EIT House was opened in the presence of Commissioner Navracsics, MEP Henna Virkkunen, MEP Lambert van Nistolerooij, and Director General EAC Martine Reicherts. 

Serving two purposes, to increase awareness of the EIT among its stakeholders, and provide a space for members of the EIT Community to network and interact, the EIT House consists of one floor dedicated to its six Innovation Communities, and one floor for exhibitions and meetings.

Welcoming the guests to the opening ceremony, EIT Governing Board Chairman, Peter Olesen, said: ‘We need to be bolder in bringing our successes to everyone’s attention. We’ve recently seen EIT Community supported ventures featured in the New York Times and CNN, among others, and we must continue that level of visibility. I believe [tweetable]the EIT House will provide the EIT Community with a huge boost and help to make our ambitions a reality[/tweetable].’

 

Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, who is responsible for the EIT, said: 'We have built a successful EIT Community of universities, research organisations, high-growth businesses, start-ups, NGOs, cities and regions, and I welcome the opening of EIT House as a crucial step in the development of that community. Better representation in Brussels will create more synergies with other EU programmes, further reinforcing our efforts to foster entrepreneurial mind-sets and enabling young people to help build a better Europe.'

Speaking after the event, EIT Interim Director, Martin Kern, said: ‘The EIT is about connecting people, disciplines, sectors, organisation and resources. Bringing people from across the EIT Community and elsewhere to observe today’s opening is a fine example of the role we imagine for the EIT House. [tweetable]The EIT is not blind to opportunities[/tweetable] but, as the forthcoming Call for Proposals for two new Innovation Communities shows, [tweetable alt="The EIT is constantly innovating to build on our successes"]constantly innovating to build on our successes[/tweetable].’

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