Summary

• The EIT Higher Education Initiative's 2026 call has a €40m budget, with grants of up to €1.25m per selected project over 18 months.
• Consortia must include at least three higher education institutions from different eligible countries and two business or industry partners, subject to restrictions on previous funding and multiple applications.
• Applications close at 17:00 CET on 13 January 2027, with successful projects to be announced later in 2027.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology has opened a €40 million funding call for international university and industry partnerships, offering grants of up to €1.25 million per project to strengthen research commercialisation and entrepreneurship capabilities.

The EIT Higher Education Initiative’s 2026 call will fund selected projects lasting 18 months, with an emphasis on manufacturing and deep technology. Eligible consortia must include at least three higher education institutions from different countries and two business or industry partners.

Applications must be submitted by 17:00 Central European Time on 13 January 2027, with successful proposals to be announced later that year. The call was launched on 20 October, giving institutions and businesses a defined period to assemble eligible partnerships and prepare their submissions.

The programme is intended to improve the capacity of higher education institutions to support innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. It does not directly award manufacturing contracts or establish financing for individual commercial products.

Consortia must meet specific eligibility rules

Each application must contain at least five funded partners. Three must be higher education institutions based in three different Horizon Europe-eligible countries, including at least one EU Member State.

The consortium must also include at least two businesses, industry partners or organisations representing business and industry. These may include smaller companies, startups, larger enterprises and industry associations.

Partners operating in manufacturing and deep technology are strongly encouraged to participate, although the call is not limited to companies already developing particular industrial products.

The EIT also invites research organisations, public bodies and other innovation partners to join consortia, subject to the requirements set out in the full call documentation.

Previous participation creates an important restriction. Organisations funded under the EIT Higher Education Initiative’s 2025 call are not eligible to apply as funded beneficiaries under the 2026 round.

Each organisation may also participate as a funded beneficiary in only one application for the 2026 call. An institution approached by several proposed consortia will therefore need to decide which application it intends to support before submissions are completed.

These conditions may influence how universities assemble cross-border teams, particularly where specialist institutions have established relationships with several potential industrial partners.

Applicants must also distinguish between organisations proposed as funded beneficiaries and other contributors to the wider project. The precise funding arrangements, eligible activities and responsibilities of each participant will need to comply with the formal call documents.

Funding targets university innovation capabilities

The EIT wants the programme to strengthen entrepreneurship training, technology transfer services and cooperation between higher education institutions and business.

Universities routinely generate research with potential commercial applications, but supporting its subsequent development can require specialist expertise in intellectual property, business formation, market assessment and relationships with outside organisations.

The call seeks to improve those capabilities within participating institutions. Proposed activities may include developing skills among students and academic staff, strengthening technology transfer arrangements and improving connections with companies and investors.

Manufacturing and deep technology provide a focus because research in these areas can involve specialised equipment, technical development and potential routes to industrial application.

However, a project funded to improve innovation capability is different from one receiving investment to construct a production facility or bring a named technology to market. The EIT’s announcement identifies institutional development and collaboration as the purposes of the funding.

Consortia will consequently need to demonstrate how their proposed activities fit the call’s objectives and how the participating organisations will contribute to the planned work.

Industry involvement is a formal part of that model. Business partners can provide knowledge about commercial requirements, operating conditions and the expertise organisations seek when recruiting graduates or working with researchers.

Such contributions may help institutions adapt their training and innovation support, although any subsequent commercial application of research would depend on separate development and investment decisions.

Eighteen months to deliver selected projects

The maximum grant of €1.25 million applies to each selected project, not to every individual partner within a consortium. Participating organisations will need to agree how their proposed activities and resources fit within the funding available.

The 18-month project period establishes a defined implementation horizon for work such as training programmes, institutional process improvements and new approaches to cooperation with industry.

Applicants should therefore distinguish activities they expect to complete within the grant period from outcomes that may depend on future support or collaboration.

The EIT has not announced the final number of projects that will be selected. The €40 million budget and maximum grant establish the financial parameters of the call, but the allocation will depend on the proposals approved and the funding awarded to each.

Funding applications will also need to address coordination between partners. A project involving multiple universities and businesses must establish responsibilities for delivering activities, managing expenditure and reporting progress.

Where intellectual property or commercially sensitive information is involved, the participating organisations may need agreements governing how material can be used and shared. Those arrangements will depend on the work proposed and the applicable call requirements.

Applications follow an established programme

The Higher Education Initiative has operated since 2021, with EIT RawMaterials coordinating the programme’s work to strengthen links between higher education and industry.

According to the EIT, earlier activity has supported more than 500 higher education institutions, provided innovation and entrepreneurship training to over 150,000 students and staff, and helped launch more than 207 startups.

These are cumulative figures reported for the existing initiative, rather than forecasts of what the new €40 million call will produce.

The latest round is aligned with several European policy programmes, including the Union of Skills, the STEM Education Strategic Plan, the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal.

Its contribution to those priorities is through education, institutional innovation capabilities and cooperation with industry. Any later effects on business formation, industrial development or technology adoption would need to be measured separately.

Prospective applicants can review the EIT Higher Education Initiative’s funding information and use its partner matchmaking resources when developing international consortia.

With submissions closing on 13 January, the immediate tasks are to confirm eligibility, establish partnerships and prepare proposals meeting the programme’s funding and delivery requirements. The selection process later in 2027 will determine which projects receive support and how the budget is distributed.