HEInnovate for EIT Higher Education Initiative (EIT HEI)

The EIT Higher Education Initiative (EIT HEI) is a joint action of the EIT Community co-designed and implemented by eight EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and fully funded by the EIT. It recognises higher education institutions (HEIs) as key actors in Europe’s innovation ecosystems and aims to strengthen their innovation and entrepreneurial capacities. The initiative promotes collaboration between academia, industry and research organisations, fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.

The EIT HEI has already achieved remarkable results, involving over 700 HEIs, training over 118,000 students and academic/non-academic staff, and supporting over 2,000 start-ups and scale-ups.

The first three years of the EIT’s HEI Initiative, 2021-2023, were assigned as a pilot phase, and it launched three calls for proposals and funded three cohorts of projects. Under the first 3 calls, EIT HEI granted EUR 69 million to a total of 65 projects, supporting 359 HEIs and 380+ non-academic organisations across Europe. The third call had a particular focus on capacity building and training talents in deep tech domains, thereby supporting the objectives of the new European Innovation Agenda. The Call 2024 was the first in the EIT HEI’s post-pilot phase and the most ambitious call yet. It had a strong focus on enhancing the quality and competitiveness of European higher education, improving research and technology transfer from higher education, and supporting business creation through strengthening collaboration between HEIs and business partners across Europe. This call funded 47 projects, each one with a total duration of 25 months and a budget of EUR 1.340.000.

The STEM Education Strategic Plan announced that the EIT HEI will train 200,000 STEM students, academics and staff on innovation, entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property management by 2028, working in synergy with the EIT KICs and the European Universities Alliances. The EIT HEI Call for Proposals 2025 will grant 25 projects, each receiving up to €2 million and to be delivered across a 2-year period, to build innovation and entrepreneurship capacity in HEIs. Specifically, under the initiative, 18 projects will support entrepreneurship and innovation capacity in STEM disciplines, 17 projects will support long-term cooperation between the EIT’s KICs and the European Universities alliances supported under Erasmus+. A full list of the selected projects, including participating organisations, countries, budgets, project summaries can be found here, while a map of the projects is available here.

What is the role of HEInnovate in the EIT HEI Initiative?

The use of the HEInnovate self-assessment tool allows HEIs to explore their innovation and entrepreneurial potential before applying under the EIT HEI. The result of the self-assessment allows them to focus their application on their concrete innovation needs. Therefore, all projects selected for funding under the EIT HEI are required to create an Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP) as part of their application. The IVAP will provide them a long-term vision towards increasing their innovation and entrepreneurial capacity at institutional level. The IVAP is based on the HEInnovate self-assessment for each HEI consortium member, to drive the choice of actions proposed for funding and institutional change within the HEIs.

For more information, please consult the EIT HEI website.