The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services invites EIC Pathfinder beneficiaries (former FET-Open & FET-Proactive ) to apply for the EIC Pathfinder Bootcamp: a virtual four-day intensive course in business and entrepreneurship taking place from 16 to 18 February 2021. Special emphasis will be put on projects/researchers in the fields of Energy, Life Science and Digital/IT.
Apply here by 15 January 2021 and transform your novel ideas into successful business solutions!
(There is limited availability and applications could close before if maximum capacity has been reached).
The EIC Pathfinder Bootcamp is a novel concept, organised by the EIC Business Acceleration Services. It builds upon the success of the Innovation Training Workshops, where EIC Pathfinder projects have the chance to work on the commercialization and value creation of their research project. Transforming your idea into a product is hard for any researchers. To help researchers navigate through the entrepreneurial world, the EIC Pathfinder Bootcamp will provide you with a guide explaining everything you need to know to transform your innovation into a valid solution and successfully bring it to market.
The EIC Pathfinder Bootcamp will be a full four-day event, taking place from 16 to 18 February 2020 from 09.00 till 18.30 (CET), and consist out of a mix of interactive lectures (including suggested readings), group assignments and key notes from industry experts. After these sessions, you will be better equipped to reach the market and venture into the entrepreneurial world with an innovative product/solution that leads to successful business opportunities.
A full overview of the four days can be found below.
Day 1: Introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship
The first day will focus on making that first step from academia to business. There will be interactive lectures on ‘Problem Solving and Systematic Innovation’ and ‘Generating Value’, as well as keynotes on ‘Making the Leap: From academia to business’ and ‘Patents: When are they worth the effort?’. The day will end with the formation of groups which will separately work on an assignment.
Day 2: Business Design Toolbox
The second day we will be going through the customer discovery and product development process. The interactive lectures will cover ‘Thinking/Seeing and Acting Entrepreneurially’ as well as ‘Creating Innovative Business Models’. There will be keynotes on ‘Top technologies to transform the world’ and ‘Partnership opportunities: Open Innovation’ and closing off with more group assignments.
Day 3: Finance/Marketing & Pitching Training
Day three will consist of parallel sessions with a limited number of participants, focussing on areas of Life Science, Energy & Digital/IT. The focus of the day will be on cases and strategies based on the above topics, with the participation of relevant experts. This includes lectures on Product and Market Development, Team Strategy and Strategic Management, as well as a pitching-training.
Who can apply?
The application is open only to EIC Pathfinder (ex. FET-Open and FET-Proactive) researchers as representatives of Pathfinder consortia/projects who work(ed) on the following topics:
- Energy
- Life science
- Digital/IT
Maximum 15 EIC Pathfinder projects can participate (2 people per project max.). Selected participants will be expected to join and actively participate the full four days. There is limited availability and applications could close before if maximum capacity has been reached.
EIC Accelerator beneficiaries are not eligible for application.
Additional information
EIC Business Acceleration Services
The EIC pilot continues to support science-to-technology research projects like FET programme has done with an additional focus on continuous improvement, networking, learning opportunities and facilitating access to business partners and investors for our beneficiaries. Being part of the programme offers you a life-long privileged access to our user-driven business acceleration services, customized to your needs. Finding the right strategic partner can be the fastest way to start up or grow your company. It will also give you more time to focus on the critical activities that make your business unique.
For EIC Pathfinder, scientists and entrepreneurs can validate their prototypes during dedicated Pathfinder Corporate Cooperation Days and Innovation Training Workshops.
EIC beneficiaries are also invited to be part of the online EIC Community. The overall aim of the EIC Community platform is to help innovators, entrepreneurs, SMEs and scientists to successfully establish themselves on the European and global markets, by creating a shared knowledge base and a virtual meeting place for them to connect with investors, corporates and peers to discuss potential businesses partnerships.
The Business Acceleration Services provided are free of charge. All participants are expected to fill out a short satisfaction survey shortly after the event, and a business impact survey after six months. Failure to do so may lead to exclusion from future Business Acceleration Services.
This opportunity is brought to you by the EIC pilot Business Acceleration Services. To explore other opportunities, keep an eye on our events page.
Cancellation policy
Cancellations will only be considered in duly documented cases of “force majeure”. Unjustified cancellation can lead to exclusion in future Business Acceleration Services events. For additional information, please refer to our helpdesk: https://community-smei.easme-web.eu/contact (please choose “EIC Pathfinder Bootcamp” as the subject).
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.