EIT Higher Education Initiative - Call for Proposals 2026
Up to €1.25 million to strengthen higher education institutions' innovation and entrepreneurship capacity through STEM talent development, knowledge valorisation and collaboration with deep-tech and manufacturing ecosystems.
TYPE OF PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED: The EIT Higher Education Initiative (EIT HEI) Call for Proposals 2026 supports projects that strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship capacity of higher education institutions (HEIs), with a focus on STEM talent, deep-tech innovation and manufacturing applications. Funded activities include developing and improving innovation and entrepreneurship curricula, delivering training and mentoring programmes, strengthening knowledge and technology transfer structures, supporting start-up creation and development, facilitating industry collaborations, and establishing institutional mechanisms for innovation and knowledge valorisation. Projects must develop an Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP) based on participating HEIs' institutional needs and priorities, contributing to sustainable institutional transformation.
SECTORS / DOMAIN: Higher education, STEM education and training, innovation and entrepreneurship, deep-tech innovation, manufacturing and industrial applications, knowledge valorisation and technology transfer. The call targets institutional capacity-building across STEM disciplines, including natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, information and communication technologies, engineering, manufacturing, construction and related interdisciplinary fields. Its strategic focus is on strengthening connections between higher education, research, industry and regional and European innovation ecosystems.
INDIVIDUAL OR CONSORTIUM: Consortium applications only. Each consortium must comprise at least five funded beneficiaries, including a minimum of three higher education institutions established in three different Horizon Europe-eligible countries, with at least one HEI based in an EU Member State. The consortium must also include at least two business or industry partners or representative organisations. The lead applicant and project coordinator must be an HEI. Additional eligible partners may include research organisations, vocational education providers, technology transfer offices, public bodies, intermediary organisations, social enterprises and NGOs. Each organisation may participate as a funded beneficiary in only one application under this call.
SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Funded beneficiaries must be established in countries eligible for Horizon Europe funding, including EU Member States, linked Overseas Countries and Territories, Horizon Europe-associated countries and eligible low- and middle-income countries, subject to the call's applicable restrictions. Each participating HEI must provide proof of national accreditation, involve at least two faculties, departments or equivalent units, complete a HEInnovate institutional self-assessment with results no more than six months old at submission, and provide a signed top management commitment letter. All funded beneficiaries must obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC). Proposals must be submitted in English. Organisations funded under EIT HEI Call 2025 and participating in an active Cohort 5 project are not eligible to apply as funded beneficiaries under this call. Previous EIT HEI participants outside this restriction may apply, provided that their proposals demonstrate additionality and do not duplicate previously funded activities.
SPECIFIC TOPICS OR CHALLENGES: Projects must contribute to all three policy objectives: strengthening STEM talent for deep-tech and manufacturing innovation and entrepreneurship; improving HEIs' institutional capacity for innovation, knowledge valorisation and technology transfer; and connecting HEIs with regional and European deep-tech and manufacturing innovation ecosystems. Activities may address entrepreneurship and intellectual property education, challenge-based learning, innovation support structures, research commercialisation, start-up development, industry partnerships and access to investment and technology infrastructure. Each project must select exactly eight Funded Actions according to the call's specified distribution across five EIT HEI Impact Domains.
PROJECTS DURATION: 18 months, from 1 May 2027 to 31 October 2028.
BUDGET, FUNDING RATES AND PAYMENT CONDITIONS:
Funding rate: Up to 100% of eligible project costs. Co-funding is encouraged but is not considered in proposal evaluation.
Budget conditions / limitations: Maximum grant of €1,250,000 per project.
Payments: An initial pre-financing payment of 25% of the total grant amount is provided. An interim payment follows approval of the midpoint report and is transferred within 30 days of approval. The final balance is paid within 30 days following the EIT's balance payment to the EIT Higher Education Initiative Coordinator after approval of the Initiative's final report.
Links
Closes
13/01/2027
Max funding per project
1.250.000€