Our work works
To strengthen European innovation, we focus on what delivers real, lasting change. By helping universities, industry, and policymakers collaborate, we turn local ideas into outcomes that matter across Europe.
Major challenges, serious action
By focusing on five core impact areas, we help align local projects with Europe’s priorities, ensuring every idea has the support to succeed.
Leadership support & institutional change
We help higher education institutions embed innovation within leadership, strategies, and structures. This includes developing innovation action plans, refining governance models, and aligning missions with entrepreneurship and impact.
Why it matters: Universities become engines of regional growth, capable of responding to societal challenges with agility and purpose.
Partnerships
We enable collaborations between universities, businesses, policymakers, and communities. Through Calls for Proposals and our matchmaking tools, we help partners find each other, build strong consortia, and co-create solutions.
Why it matters: Tackling Europe’s biggest challenges — from sustainability to digitalisation — requires collaboration across sectors and borders.
Business innovation
We support start-ups, spin-offs, and scale-ups emerging from universities, helping them bridge the gap from idea to market. This includes funding pilot projects, supporting proof-of-concept work, and facilitating connections with industry to strengthen innovation pipelines.
Why it matters: Europe needs globally competitive solutions, and universities are key to creating the ventures that deliver them.
Entrepreneurship education
We help institutions integrate entrepreneurship into teaching and research. This creates pathways for students, researchers and staff to gain practical entrepreneurial experience. This includes partnering with industry to provide real-world challenges and opportunities.
Why it matters: Equipping learners with an entrepreneurial mindset ensures Europe has the talent to lead the green and digital transitions.
Knowledge sharing
Accelerating innovation through shared learning.
Our Community of Practice connects institutions and partners across Europe to share best practices, insights, and success stories. By highlighting what works and enabling peer learning, we help innovative practices scale faster across regions.
Why it matters: Knowledge sharing reduces duplication, accelerates impact, and demonstrates the role of higher education in Europe’s innovation landscape.
Innovation happens when the
right people come together
Across Europe, the EIT HEI Initiative is helping universities, businesses, and policymakers turn ideas into outcomes that matter.
700+ institutions
involved
We help higher education leaders embed innovation at the heart of their institutions.
€69M
awarded
Awarded to support 359 HEIs and 380+ non-academic organisations.
1700+ start-ups
supported
We support organisations to launch, scale and sustain their ventures.
90,000+ people
trained
Trained students, academic and non-academic staff on innovation and entrepreneurship.
SMART4FUTURE: bridging academia and entrepreneurship
Explore the project activities spearheaded by Maja Brkljačić, Head of the research institute Algebra LAB at Algebra University in Zagreb, within the SMART4FUTURE project.
DISCO: Uniting universities and enterprises for sustainable innovation
In this interview, Monitoring and Evaluation Expert Dr Marek Oramus highlights the impact of DISCO, an innovative project fostering collaboration between education, businesses and civil society.
OASIS and PROMETHEUS: empowering student innovation through joint technology transfer initiatives
Discover how the OASIS and PROMETHEUS projects led to the creation of a joint technology transfer office, the outcomes of their collaboration, and the challenges they successfully navigated
SMILE: Supporting start-ups and scale-ups in smart manufacturing
Learn more about how the SMILE project fosters innovation in smart manufacturing through international collaboration
DETECT! project: connecting deep technologies and entrepreneurship as a driver of institutional change
Learn about the DETECT! project’s transformative goals and the challenges of bringing creative learning to highly technical fields.
EIT Higher Education Initiative’s successful Pilot Phase conclusion event fosters innovation and entrepreneurship in European higher education, emphasising collaboration and deep tech
The event celebrated the initiative’s journey, showcasing the transformative impact of innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.
ILCA: driving innovation and climate action in Ukraine
Anton Tkachenko discusses the development of the Ukrainian Innovation Laboratory for Climate Actions (ILCA), a project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable practices.
Network IQ Alliance: developing networking competencies for innovation and entrepreneurship
From forging global partnerships to fostering entrepreneurial skills, discover how the Network IQ Alliance is shaping the future of innovation and entrepreneurship across borders.
VIADUCT: fostering spin-offs through inter-regional collaboration and innovation
Read an inspiring interview with Cristina Ruiz García on VIADUCT, a project helping drive technology transfer and commercialisation by valorising public research and helping universities collaborate.
Ready to turn your idea into action?
Whether you’re leading a university, growing a start-up, or shaping Europe’s future, we’re here to help you make an impact.