Open to all innovators and stakeholders, our flagship event brings together visionary sessions, bold and game-changing ideas, unparalleled networking opportunities, and the excitement of the European Prize for Women Innovators awards ceremony. Join us to be inspired, make connections, and celebrate the pioneers shaping the future of innovation.
10:00-10:15 | Official Opening
Fireside chat with Key EIC announcements
Speakers:
- Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
Moderation:
- Matt Smith, Master of ceremony
10:15-10:45 | Scaleup hubs – what’s in it for European startups and scaleups
Speakers:
- Serena Borbotti-Frison, Director-General, Allied for Startups
- Francesca Natali, Innovation Advisor, Meta Group
- Sven De Cleyn, Programme Director, imec.istart
Moderated by:
- Eliza Kruczkowska, Managing director of the Polish Foundation for Entrepreneurship Support & EIC Board member
10:45-11:15 | Will this energy crisis be a growth catalyst for European clean tech?
Speakers:
- Ann Mettler, President, Catalyse Europe
- Patrik Möller, CEO and Co-founder, CorPower Ocean
- Liza Rubenstein, Co-founder, Carbon Equity
- Victor van Hoorn, Director, Cleantech for Europe
11:15-11:45 | From Tech Push to Market Pull: Unlocking Europe’s AI Startup Potential
Speakers:
- Howard Wright, VP startups ecosystems, Nvidia
- Anita Schjøll Abildgaard, CEO of IRIS AI
- Maria Cristina Russo, Deputy Director-General for Innovation, Prosperity and International Cooperation, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
11:45-12:30 | Women Innovators Prize Award Ceremony
Award ceremony with onstage discussion
Speakers:
- Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
- WIP 2026 Finalists
Moderated by:
- Matt Smith, Master of Ceremony
12:30-13:00 | Supporting high risk deep tech innovations from lab to market
Speakers:
- Rafael Laguna, Founding director of Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND
- Maria Leptin, President of the ERC Scientific Council
- Laurence Petit, EIC Board Member, Director for Innovation, Start-ups, and Investments at CEA
Moderated by:
- Jean-David Malo, Acting Director for ERA & Innovation, DG for Research and Innovation, European Commission
10:45-11:15 | Workshop: "Test faster and scale smarter: Improving access for companies to European research and technology infrastructures"
This session is also taking place on Day 1 (June 3 at 12:30).
This session will showcase a real-world success story of collaboration between a company and a technology infrastructure (TI), demonstrating how streamlined access, whether through simplified contracts, cross-border facility use, or tailored support, can drive breakthroughs. By highlighting practical solutions to common barriers, we’ll explore how these principles, if scaled, could transform the European innovation landscape.
The discussion will feature firsthand perspectives from an innovative company and the infrastructure host to foster a constructive dialogue on improving access for industrial users. Through this exchange, we’ll identify actionable ways to make Europe’s world-class research and technology infrastructures more responsive to business needs, ensuring that cutting-edge ideas move from lab to market faster and smarter.
Speakers:
- Magnus Wikander, Business Development Manager for Hydrodynamics and Testing at RISE Maritime (SSPA Maritime Center)
- Jonas Genchel, CEO and co-founder of Zparq
14:30-15:30 | Workshop: Shaping the Future of EIC Technology Foresight and Horizon Scanning
Join this hands-on workshop to shape the next steps of EIC technology foresight and horizon scanning by exploring the data, tools, and frameworks that can strengthen future-oriented strategic intelligence at Europe’s largest deep-tech investor. Following a brief introduction to current methodologies and outputs, including the EIC Tech Report 2026, participants will be invited to help EIC think beyond current approaches: What data points are still missing? How can emerging technology signals be detected earlier and more effectively? Which stakeholders should be more closely involved? Investors, innovators, researchers, and policymakers are invited to contribute their perspectives and help future-proof how the EIC identifies and assesses what might come next.
Speakers:
- Alexandre Pólvora, Policy Adviser, EIC Coordination and Analytics Team, EISMEA
- João Farinha, Policy Analyst, EU Policy Lab, Joint Research Centre
- Carsten Dreher, EIC Board member and Professor for Innovation Management, Freie Universität Berlin
14:30-15:15 | Financing Europe’s Future: Unlocking institutional capital for innovation
Speakers:
- Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
- Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union
- Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament
- Karl Nehammer, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank
- Ronald Wuijster, Former - Executive Board Member APG Group NV & CEO APG Asset Management
Moderated by:
- Silke Wettach, Moderator and executive coach
15:15-15:30 | The pioneer mindset: shaping the next era of festivals and entertainment
15:30-16:00 | Future of the EIC
Speakers:
- Christian Ehler, Member of the European Parliament
- Marc Lemaître, Director-General, Directorate General for Research and Innovation (RTD)
- Anita Krohn, CEO DSD AS Group and EIC Board Member
Moderated by:
- Andreas Schwarz, Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Zaharieva
16:00-16:30 | EU Inc.: One Framework, One Market, New Opportunities
Speakers:
- Clark Parsons, CEO of the European Startup Network
- Lisa Smith, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Prewave
- Kevin Barrett, Cabinet Expert (Cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection)
- Milla Marinova, EIC Board member, Founder and CEO, R8ER
16:30-16:45 | Official closing
Speaker:
- Momchil Sabev, Director, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency