The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) announced that the EIT Higher Education Institutions (HEI) Initiative will launch its new call for proposals in autumn 2024.
The EIT HEI Initiative, a Horizon Europe programme created by the EIT – Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem has a twofold aim: a) transforming HEIs into innovation and entrepreneurship powerhouses and b) strengthening their integration into local, regional and pan-European innovation networks. To date, the programme has supported over 40 000 students and staff in entrepreneurship training and provided support to over 1 100 start-ups and scale-ups.
The EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024 will have a strong focus on enhancing the quality and competitiveness of European higher education. It will improve research and technology transfer from higher education and support business creation through strengthening collaboration between HEIs and business partners across Europe.
EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024
The selected projects of EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024 can expect to have a duration of 25 months, and an estimated budget of EUR 1.34 million per project to implement their activities*. The majority of the total project budget must be allocated to higher education institutions in the consortium that fit the following criteria:
- They did not participate in an EIT HEI Initiative project from a previous cohort
- They are not formally affiliated (i.e. member/partner) with any of the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (EIT KICs). Please find an indicative partner list of reference here
(Please consult the final list of KIC partners to be published along the call text)
The call will incorporate a two-strand approach, where applicants will need to select one the following strands to apply to:
- Strand A: Innovation and entrepreneurship capacity building at higher education institutions (HEIs).
- Strand B: Innovation and entrepreneurship capacity building at HEIs for the enhancement of Deep Tech.
*Full details of the call for proposals, including the final budget and duration are subject to the final call text, will be published on the EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024 webpage in the autumn of 2024. Stay tuned with the EIT HEI Initiative website and social media for the announcement of the call text.
Consortium composition criteria
Eligible applying consortia to the EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024 must consist of a minimum of five full (funded) partner organisations, and comply with the following criteria:
- Minimum three full partner higher education institutions (HEIs), from three different countries
- One of the full partner HEIs must be the Project Coordinator
- Minimum two HEIs must be a ‘new’ partner (i.e., didn’t participate in an HEI Initiative Cohort 1, 2 or 3 project)
- Minimum one business partner
Networking and matchmaking platform
The EIT HEI Initiative launches today a networking and matchmaking platform (hosted on Conversation Starter) for organisations to browse and connect with potential project partners, with whom they may decide to submit a joint application to the EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2024.
Users must complete their profile with details of their organisation (for example whether they have previously participated in a previous EIT HEI Initiative project, the strand they are interested in applying to, what they are looking for in consortium partners). After browsing participant profiles, users can send invitations and hold meetings within the platform to discuss a potential partnership, leading to the formation of a strong and effective consortium.
Please note that the networking platform has been set up for interested applicants to use independently. The EIT HEI Initiative personnel do not facilitate any interactions or meetings on the networking platform.
Create your profile now and let the matchmaking begin
Source: European Institute of Innovation & Technology | News (https://shorturl.at/Iwrmz)