EIT HEI Call for Proposals 2026
EIT HEI Call for Proposals 2026 supports higher education-led consortia to build STEM entrepreneurship skills and technology transfer capacity, turning research into deep-tech and manufacturing innovation.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: January 13, 2027, 17:00 CET (Submission)
Funding Amounts: Up to €1.25 million per project over 18 months; €40 million total budget
Summary: Supports HEI-led consortia to strengthen STEM entrepreneurship, institutional innovation capacity, and research-to-market pathways in deep tech and manufacturing.
Key Information: Requires at least five funded partners, including three HEIs in three eligible countries and two industry partners or representatives.
Description
The EIT Higher Education Initiative supports higher education institutions (HEIs) in turning STEM talent, research and technologies into deep-tech and manufacturing innovation. Supported by the European Commission and implemented collaboratively by EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), the initiative is coordinated by EIT RawMaterials. This is a cascade funding call: the EU-funded project awards and pays the funding itself.
Projects must address three connected objectives: developing innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual property skills among STEM students and staff; strengthening institutional capacity for knowledge valorisation and technology transfer; and connecting HEIs to regional and European innovation ecosystems. Supported activities include innovation action plans, entrepreneurship programmes, training and mentoring, institutional innovation structures, partnerships, technology transfer and start-up creation. The goal is sustainable institutional change that helps research progress towards validation, commercialisation and industrial application.
