EIT Community Artificial Intelligence

This strategic partnership between the EIT Community and Digital SME Alliance provides a platform for startups, scale-ups, SMEs, universities and technology transfer offices (TTOs) to collaborate and explore the world of AI innovation. By leveraging the expertise and resources of the EIT Community, participating organisations are building a critical mass in support of an innovation-friendly EU legislation on AI unlocking new opportunities for growth and development.

To further accelerate the adoption of AI in European companies, the EIT Community is organising its second AI Challenge. This initiative aims to connect SMEs and corporates that face AI-realted challenges with suitable AI solution providers, including startups and renowned players in the field. EIT Community AI Challenge empowers businesses to embark on their AI journey or enhance their existing AI system by facilitating collaborations and providing targeted recommendations.

In an era of digital transformation, upskilling and reskilling in deep tech fields such as AI is essential for citizens, entrepreneurs and organisations to thrive. Through its Skill Sync platform, the EIT Community AI offers personalised course recommendations and identifies training opportunities tailored to the needs of startups, SMEs, corporates, HR departments, universities and policymakers. Skill Sync is a one-stop solution that provides access to over 20,000 AI courses, 600 deep tech skills, and 1000 organisations active in the global landscape.

Understanding an organisation's current performance and readiness to adopt AI is crucial for successful implementation. The AI Maturity Tool, developed by VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, offers a free self-assessment web tool to evaluate an organisation's AI maturity level. By completing the assessment, organisations gain valuable insights into their AI readiness and identify areas for improvement, ultimately guiding their AI journey.

The AI Act, proposed by the European Union in April 2021 defines a framework to regulate the use of AI across all sectors. The Act adopts a risk-based approach, classifying the AI systems into four categories: low risk, limited risk, high risk and unacceptable risk.

The organisation that intends to implement AI needs to develop a set of mandatory requirements before deploying AI and non-compliance is met with a hefty penalty. The AI Act Conformity tool, developed by Statworx, offers a free web-based assessment to test your risk level. This helps the organisation that intends to deploy AI solutions assess how compliant they are with the EU AI Act.