The EIT, as an EU body stands fully behind the EU position condemning the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It is vital that the EIT – united as a community – works to support the people of Ukraine through coordinated efforts as part of the overall EU response. On 4 March the EIT published a statement on its website, expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Within this context, EIT Manufacturing as part of the EIT community offered and proposed several activities to be developed with the aim to support the Ukrainian community.

A 2020 report by the European Commission highlights the rapid development of a high technology sector in Ukraine, with pockets of scientific excellence reflecting the country’s successful contribution to scientific advancement over the past decades. The innovation potential of Ukraine and Ukrainians is immense and should be preserved and driven forward through programmes supporting innovators and entrepreneurs, also in times of war.

Thereby, a pre-accelerator programme providing Ukrainian researchers, students, idea holders and early-stage startups with entrepreneurial educational programmes and access to finance may support the sustainable reconstruction of the country, and potentially trigger a major technology and innovation leap.

In this context, EIT Manufacturing is launching “Pre-accelerator in Ukraine – powered by EIT Jumpstarter”.

With the contribution of INESTEC and Tartu University, Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Hubs partners of EIT Manufacturing, we will help high-potential early-stage teams to develop their business idea through online training, expert mentoring and subgranting. Also, the best-selected teams will have the opportunity to win 7,500€ and 5,500€ and 3,500€ monetary prizes and access to the EIT Communities network.

The methodology of the programme is based on the EIT Jumpstarter, an award-winning pre-accelerator brought to life by six Knowledge and Innovation Communities of the EIT in a project led by EIT Health.