EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals 2025

The EIT Higher Education Institutions Initiative's Call for Proposals 2025 is offering up to €2 million per project to support projects that enable universities and their partners to develop critical entrepreneurship skills and mindsets, launch new innovation structures and programmes, and strengthen strategic collaboration with industry and society. 

Projects can apply under two topics:

• Topic 1: Boosting the innovation and entrepreneurship capacity of Europe's STEM talent pipeline
• Topic 2: Strengthening synergies across the European higher education and innovation area, specifically between the EIT ecosystem and the European Universities alliances.

What funding covers

Projects can receive up to €2 million, delivered across a 2-year period

Funding can support:

• Developing and implementing innovation action plans
• Designing and delivering entrepreneurship programs
• Training and mentoring
• Establishing new innovation structures
• Building partnerships and ecosystems
• Supporting technology transfer and startups

Who can apply?

Funding is available to partnerships (consortia) led by higher education institutions, working together with other organisations to build innovation capacity.

To apply for funding, you need to form a partnership, or ‘consortium’. We fund projects led by higher education institutions, working together with businesses and other organisations to build innovation capacity in higher education.

Eligible partners may include:

• HEIs
• Businesses (SMEs, corporates, investors)
• Research organisations
• TTOs and KTOs
• Public bodies and networks
• Intermediary organisations
• Social enterprises and NGOs

Your consortium must:

• Have at least 5 partner organisations, all based in Horizon Europe-eligible countries
• Include at least 3 HEIs from 3 different Horizon Europe eligible countries For Topic 2, all 3 HEIs must be either members of the same European Universities alliance established under the European Universities Initiative, or were members of the same European Universities alliance after 1 January 2019
• Include at least 1 business partner
• Include at least 1 other non-HEI partner (business or other)

Find all the information on the HEI website.

Download the full call text