Since established in 2021, the EIT Higher Education Initiative has already awarded over €69 million to 308 HEIs and 135 non-academic organisations to support 65 pan-European projects. Its projects have delivered creative and original approaches to innovation and entrepreneurial capacity-building. The links established between HEIs and companies, research and public bodies have led to integrated ecosystems in which HEIs act as hubs creating lasting a systematic impact. Between 2021 and 2023, these projects trained over 90 000 students on innovation and entrepreneurship and supported more than 1 700 start-ups and scale-ups. To date, the initiative has also contributed to the creation of over 240 start-ups. The EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities collectively implement the EIT Higher Education Initiative, with EIT RawMaterials in the coordinating role.

The EIT strengthens Europe’s ability to innovate by powering solutions to pressing global challenges and by nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities among leading companies, research labs and universities. Currently nine EIT Knowledge & Innovation Communities are supported: Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Health, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Food,
EIT Manufacturing, EIT Urban Mobility and EIT Culture & Creativity. The EIT has also launched a call for its 10th Knowledge and Innovation Community, EIT Water, that is open until 17 June.
Together with their leading partners, the EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities across Europe: entrepreneurial education courses, business creation and acceleration services, and innovation-driven research projects. To date, these have resulted in