Women Leadership Programme (EIC WLP) FAQ

The programme offers a catalogue of profile-based and tailored journeys of training sessions, for example, how to develop your personal leadership and brand, negotiate with partners, pitch in front of investors, and other key topics for innovators to thrive. Based on a needs analysis carried out before the start of the trainings, each session will be tailored to participants’ needs.

The skills will be further developed during the exchanges with personal mentors and business coaches.

No. No funding of financial support or compensation is associated with the participation in the programme. Please note that travel and accommodation costs for in-person events are to be borne by the participant

We will be adding all participants in an exclusive Alumni Group in the EIC Community Platform where you will be able to network, share relevant news, files and learn from your cohort peers, as well as from the female leaders that joined the previous cohorts of the programme. In addition, we will organize three networking sessions during the programme. These will allow participants to not only connect with their peers, but with the broader EIC Community.

The 6th cohort of the EIC WLP will take place from September to November 2024.

Timeline of events

*Please note that the EIC or EIT will not cover your travel and logistic expenses to attend the in-person event. 

The programme will launch its activities with an online introductory workshop (online) and kick-off bootcamp (in-person) in September, followed by weekly online training sessions in October and November.  

The Introductory workshop provides a first opportunity for participants to meet their peers. During this meeting, we will present the objectives of the EIC WLP, give a comprehensive overview of the programme, in particular on the Business Coaching and Mentorship Schemes. Moreover, participants have the opportunity to meet and speed date with mentors.

During the Kick-off days, we will focus on team building, present the topics of the training sessions and have the first trainings.  

In October and November, we will organize one 2-hour training session per week, taking place online (on Zoom). Through these training sessions, participants will develop and acquire essential leadership and business skills. The trainings are led by experts from the industry and are interactive. Participants will familiarize themselves with new skills through discussions, case studies and role-play.

The programme will enhance the opportunities to network with fellow leaders, EIC Community members, and other relevant stakeholders from the ecosystem through networking events, taking place online and in-person.

The programme will be concluded with a Closing Ceremony in November, to acknowledge all implemented activities and concrete impact on your daily innovator life.

During the introduction workshop organised on 23 April, participants will have a chance to speed-date with mentors from our mentoring pool. After this session, participants will be able to check our full mentor pool and select mentors they would like to work with. The WLP team will support participants in finding a suitable mentor.

Once participants are matched with mentors, they will schedule bi-weekly meetings with their mentors and meet regularly for a period of 6-months. In May, the WLP team will check-in with participants and mentors to ensure the matching was successful and meetings are taking place regularly.

From our large pool of EIC Business Coaches, participants will be able to find a coach with ample experience in specific industry and market context. We will assist participants with the pairing process so that the participants will work directly with the EIC Coach of their choice.

Participants are entitled to benefit of 3 days of business coaching broken down in a number of exchanges suiting your agenda and needs. Meetings can be implemented in the best suitable virtual platform.

By joining the EIC WLP, participants commit to attend and participate in at least 85% of the training Version 1 19 December 2023 sessions (8 sessions in total, 85% attendance rate = attending at least 7 sessions).

The sessions are important steps that will provide participants with valuable knowledge and tools, so you should really strive to be present. If that is not possible, please inform the organisation team as soon as you can. Your attendance will be linked to your conclusion of the programme, with the receipt of our EIC WLP Conclusion Certificate. Only the participants that achieve our attendance regulation will be able to claim their EIC WLP Completion Certificate.

Besides simple personal and career-related questions, you must elaborate on:

• Your future aspirations as regards your professional career.
• Challenges you are currently facing on your professional path.
• Motivation to participate in the Women Leadership Programme.
• Expectations from the Women Leadership Programme.

You will also have to provide us with:

• EIC instrument your company has benefited from/ EIC project ID / acronym / abstract of the EIC project conducted by your organisation / or EIT programme / KIC name / year in which your company has benefited from EIT.
• Your CV in English with a max. of 2 pages in pdf (Applications with CVs not meeting these criteria will not be considered for selection).

Women (co)founders, CEOs and leaders in other chief positions in EIC & EIT supported SMEs under the following instruments are eligible to apply:

• SME Phase I and Phase II,
• EIC Transition,
• EIC Pathfinder,
• EIC Accelerator,
• Seal of Excellence under Horizon Europe,
• Women TechEU,
• EIT Programmes (all KICs).

The person who coordinated your organisation´s EIC or EIT project has this information. Please consult with them.

No, during the application you must explain your role in the EIC/EIT funded project, which is one of the requirements for your participation in the programme. Please keep in mind that you will need to keep being part of the EIC/EIT supported organisation for the whole duration of the WLP cohort.

The number of women participants associated with the same EIC/EIT project is not limited. However, each applicant will be evaluated on her own merit and not based on the EIC/EIT project she has participated in.

The applicant can work both on an ongoing or a finished EIC/EIT project.

Please use the “Contact Form” option on the side of the application tab to indicate potential technical issues with your application

The EIC Women Leadership Programme is dedicated to female members of EIC funded organisations. You cannot apply for the programme if you are no longer employed by an EIC beneficiary.

Your application will be evaluated based on your motivation, expected impact of participation in the EIC WLP on your future career path and on your profile assessment.

Your application will be assessed by a panel of experts active in the community promoting women engagement in innovation and entrepreneurship. They all have hands-on experiences in leading their own businesses and/or mentoring prospective women entrepreneurs to grow their own businesses

The results will be communicated by mid-April 2024. All applicants will be contacted by the organising team to be informed of the results.