Award ceremony
On 4 December 2025, the European Commission has announced the winners of the 11th edition of the European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) during the Cities Innovate Summit, in Turin.
Supported by the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe, the prize recognises the role cities play in shaping the local innovation ecosystem and promoting game-changing innovation.
Take a look at the photos from the ceremony and learn more about the winners and the jury members below.
The European Capital of Innovation
Winner: Grenoble Alpes Métropole (France)
Grenoble Alpes Métropole, surrounded by steep mountains, carries a pioneering and creative spirit. This shared spirit made it the 7th densest deeptech ecosystem in the world, standing out as a pivotal hub for European industries.
It hosts 30 000 public and private R&D jobs withing a 20 km radius, five major international scientific facilities, eight national research organisation. It is also home to the Grenoble Alpes University, ranked in the top 150 of the Shanghai Ranking and number one in Europe for patents filed. This dynamic environment supports a dense industrial fabric: it is France’s leading industrial metropolitan area in terms of jobs per capita.
2nd place: Rotterdam (the Netherlands)
Rotterdam is a city of continuous transformation. Innovation is therefore in their DNA. Like many European cities, Rotterdam faces urgent challenges such as climate change, the energy and materials transition, health and wellbeing, social inequality, economic resilience, and security. They tackle these challenges by developing their city as an open laboratory for research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Their vision, ambition and strategy are laid down in the Roadmap Next Economy (2016). Rotterdam focusses on becoming the digital gateway of Europe and a strategic hub for energy transition and circular economy, supported by an excellent entrepreneurial climate and social innovation.
3rd place: Liverpool (United Kingdom)
Liverpool’s history is marked by a willingness to experiment and adapt. Being European Capital of Culture in 2008, not only celebrated the city’s cultural heritage but also served as a catalyst for significant regeneration and economic impact, by growing the City’s knowledge economy. The civic pride that being European Capital of Culture instilled in its citizens was key to Liverpool leading the way in the UK during Covid-19 with mass testing, use of civic data and events research and trailblazing initiatives like “Liverpool Without Walls” supporting local businesses at that difficult time.
The European Rising Innovative City
Winner: Aalborg (Denmark)
Once known for its smoking chimneys and heavy industries, Aalborg has reinvented itself into one of Europe’s most forward-looking innovation cities, where sustainability, technology, and citizen engagement go hand in hand. The city’s transformation from an industrial hub into a dynamic living lab for the green and digital transition has positioned it as a testbed for sustainable innovation across Europe.
Aalborg’s strategy rests on a clear, long-term vision: “From grey to green, from smoke to smart, from local industry to global innovation.” This vision is driven by flagship initiatives that turn industrial legacy into opportunity and innovation into everyday governance.
2nd place: San Sebastian (Spain)
Situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the French border just 25 kilometers away, it has long been a crossroads of ideas, people, and languages. This unique position fosters a naturally multilingual environment where Basque, Spanish, French, and English coexist, reflecting the city’s inclusive and outward-looking spirit.
Over the last 35 years, San Sebastian has undergone a great transformation, evolving from a post-industrial city into a leading hub of science, innovation, and quality of life. The city concentrates top-tier research institutions and fosters a dense innovation ecosystem, actively supported talent attraction, scientific outreach, and SME engagement.
3rd place: Nicosia
Under the vision “IN NICOSIA: Inclusive. Innovative. Integrated.”, the Municipality has made innovation a shared civic culture. Public buildings once marked by decline have been reborn. The old municipal market ‘Agora’ has been made home to the CYENS Centre of Excellence – led by the Municipality, a European Teaming Centre of Excellence for applied research and innovation in interactive media and artificial intelligence. Around CYENS, an expanding network of creative and digital spaces - including the Thinker Maker Space, CYENS Techub, and coworking hubs for students and entrepreneurs - is bringing new life to the heart of the city.
Gerald Babel-Sutter[The European Capital of Innovation]
Gerald Babel-Sutter is the spark behind Urban Future – Europe’s Better-Cities Event. What he jokingly calls “a bit of an accident” has since grown into Europe’s largest gathering for people who want to make cities more sustainable and more liveable.
A community builder at heart, Gerald has shaped Urban Future into a global network of CityChangers: mayors, planners, architects, activists, entrepreneurs, and young leaders who believe change is possible and prove it every day. He has built trusted relationships with 100+ partner organisations and cities worldwide, creating a space where honest stories, hard-won lessons, and even failures are shared openly.
Gerald’s driving belief is simple: transformation starts with people. His mission is to empower those working on the ground with the skills, courage, and networks they need to turn ideas into impact. He champions honesty over hype, collaboration over silos, and action over endless talking – values that define Urban Future’s unique culture, where no hierarchy stands in the way of learning from one another.
Elena Deambrogio[The European Capital of Innovation]
Elena Deambrogio has over fifteen years of experience in designing and implementing urban innovation and EU-funded programmes for the City of Turin. She is Head of the Open Innovation and Research & Business Relations Unit within the Green Transition Service, where she promotes projects supporting the city’s digital and ecological transition in close collaboration with universities, research centres, businesses and startups.
Since 2018 she has led Torino City Lab, the city’s open innovation platform enabling real-life testing of new technologies and services. She also manages CTE NEXT – Turin House of Emerging Technologies, which strengthens technology transfer and accelerates startups and SMEs working with 5G and emerging technologies for intelligent mobility, industry and innovative urban services. As coordinator of ToMove, Turin’s living lab on cooperative, connected and automated mobility, she uses real-life pilots to explore new governance models for data-driven mobility, integrate MaaS and CCAM solutions into urban policy, and build replicable frameworks for other cities.
Lidia Gryszkiewicz[The European Capital of Innovation]
Lidia is the managing director of The Impact Lab, a strategy consultancy that has assisted 40+ cities across Europe with innovation strategies, impact measurement and strategic capacity building. Lidia holds a PhD in innovation management, certificates from Harvard Business School, Oxford Impact Measurement Programme and Dubai Future Academy. Lidia has worked for major urban initiatives including the European Capital of Culture or URBACT networks, and co-led projects such as Urban Innovation Lab or Social Innovation Academy.
Previous experience includes Arthur D. Little, PWC and Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology. She regularly advises the European Commission and European Institute of Innovation and Technology as independent expert, and has worked for ministers, secretaries of state, mayors, and CEOs alike. Lidia was also a national delegate to CEN & ISO innovation management committees, and a mentor for Founder Institute and WEF Global Shapers Community hub in Luxembourg.
Christina Kakderi[The European Capital of Innovation]
Christina Kakderi is an Associate Professor of Spatial Development, Innovation Systems and Smart City Strategies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her work examines how cities and regions can use innovation, digital technologies and place-based strategies to support sustainable and socially inclusive development, with a particular focus on smart cities, regional innovation ecosystems and the green–digital (twin) transition.
Over almost two decades, she has coordinated and participated in numerous EU-funded projects on intelligent cities, innovation-driven regional development, resilience and Smart Specialisation Strategies. She combines academic research with advisory work for city and regional administrations and the European Commission, contributing to the design and evaluation of innovation and digital transformation strategies in several European countries. She has published on smart cities, regional innovation, urban sustainability and the spatial dimensions of green and digital transitions.
Peter Sailer[The European Capital of Innovation]
Peter is an experienced urban development expert who has worked in various countries, including China, Germany, and across Africa. He has more than 15 years of expertise in the industry. Peter has proven records of effectively managing and leading multiple international projects relating to urban development, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
He has worked for several renowned organisations, including Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG, where he served as a Head of Project and Manager for Energy Efficient Urban Development, respectively, over the course of his career. Currently, he is in charge of the International Smart Cities Network, supporting the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, promoting the integration of digital solutions into citizen-centred urban development processes and facilitating the exchange of good practices and experiences between urban practitioners worldwide.
Mikael Edelstam[The European Rising Innovative City]
Mikael Edelstam is founder of Miljöstrategi AB a consultancy company focused on smart and sustainable city development and innovation. He started his career as environmental manager for large-scale innovative city development projects like Hammarby Waterfront in Stockholm and City of Tomorrow in Malmö, setting new standards for sustainable city development. In the last two decades he specialised in innovation ecosystem stakeholder collaboration for the green and climate transition.
He was the key person in setting up Sweden’s first specialized cleantech business incubator in Malmö, and he was member of Sounding Board for the innovation system in Skåne, 2010-2012, and coordinator of the pilot area Smart Sustainable Cities within the innovation strategy for Region Skåne 2011-2015.
Mikael helped cities to set up Innovation platforms for smart sustainable cities - collaboration platforms for innovation, projects and investments - developing a model for leading innovation on complex city challenges with need for collaboration between a multitude of stakeholders, building international partnerships with other regions and cities.
Nuno Gouveia[The European Rising Innovative City]
Nuno Gouveia is a senior advisor in urban innovation, European affairs and international cooperation, serving as political and international strategy advisor to the Mayor of Braga. With over a decade of experience at the crossroads of innovation policy, city diplomacy and strategic communication, he has been instrumental in positioning Braga as one of Europe’s emerging innovation-driven cities.
At European level, Nuno represented Braga at the Executive Committee of EUROCITIES and advised the Mayor at the Daily Board of the Global Parliament of Mayors, contributing to high-level urban diplomacy and international network building. He has coordinated multiple international cooperation programmes, as the EU Partnerships for Sustainable Cities with Argentina and Paraguay or the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) initiative with Canadian cities. He also leads Braga’s participation in URBACT networks at Cities After Dark, a pioneering European network on the governance of night-time economies.
Nuno has extensive experience working with European institutions, notably the European Committee of the Regions, where he has contributed as an expert to opinions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), social economy and European resilience. In 2024, he coordinated Braga’s winning application to the European Rising Innovative City Award. He previously served as an advisor to the Portuguese Government.
Milou Jansen[The European Rising Innovative City]
As Policy Officer, Researcher and Program Manager, Milou is eager to lead the way towards a just urban digital future as linking-pin between the political, social, ethical, technical and environmental implications of data-driven technologies. She combines local and international experience in the field combined with a solid academic background in Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society. Milou currently works as Project Coordinator on the ‘International Guidelines on People-Centered Smart Cities’, at UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) to ensure that urban digital technologies globally contribute to making cities sustainable, inclusive, prosperous and respectful of human rights.
Previously, she has navigated roles as Lead Digital Rights & Ethics at the City of Amsterdam - launching digital ethics as a lasting priority and expertise in the city - and as Coordinator of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, building the coalition and co-creating a framework for mainstreaming human rights in the digital transformation of cities.
Biljana Mickov[The European Rising Innovative City]
Biljana Mickov, PhD, is a researcher and professor. She graduated from the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, and holds a European Diploma in Cultural Project Management from the Marcel Hicter Foundation in Brussels (supported by UNESCO and the European Commission). She holds PhD from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France.
Her work has been published in Barcelona, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Serbia. She has published more than ten books in the United Kingdom dedicated to the cultural sector, cities and innovation. She was part of the European Expert Network on Culture (EENC), where she worked for two years. The project brings together a group of high-level experts in cultural policy who produce reports and studies.
Her work is primarily dedicated to the research and development of cultural policies and innovative management, with a focus on an inclusive society in cooperation with local authorities. Her research fields include cultural policy, arts and cultural management, cities, sociology, human geography, the creative economy, and the green agenda. She is also a member of an expert group at the European Commission.
Zuzana Nehajova[The European Rising Innovative City]
Founder of 2impact, cooperating with the European Investment Bank and European Commission, and expert in innovation-led urban development, Zuzana Nehajova has over 18 years of international experience in strategy, ecosystem building and transformative city initiatives across Europe and the CEE region. Zuzana is a leading advisor to governments, international financial institutions and national promotional banks on smart cities, sustainable urban mobility, digital transformation, and the design of innovation ecosystems that strengthen local competitiveness and economic resilience.
Zuzana specializes in building cross-sector innovation frameworks, designing urban-development programmes, and supporting cities in leveraging emerging technologies for public service transformation. She has led more than 100 strategic assessments and innovation-ecosystem assignments for EIB/EIF and the European Commission, including digital-economy strategies, smart-city readiness analyses, investment frameworks, and national innovation-policy reforms. Her work also focuses on implementing digital solutions in real urban environments - translating strategic concepts into practical pilots, platforms, and city services that improve everyday life for residents.