At the end of November, the Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP) Workshop will bring together around 300 participants from across Europe. The event is part of the EIT’s Higher Education Initiative and aims to strengthen universities’ innovation capacity while building a shared foundation for future development.
RUN InnoBoost was represented by Kirsi Vesterinen, Project Manager at HAMK, Anna Rantapero-Laine, Senior Specialist at HAMK, Vítor Ferreira, CEO Startup Leiria, Vic Vansevenant Project Researcher from Howest, and Dr. Massimiliano Zanotto, TUS.
The three-day program features keynote speeches, interactive workshops, poster sessions, and networking opportunities. Special focus areas include entrepreneurship and partnerships, diversity and inclusion, DeepTech innovations, and sustainability and impact measurement.
With over 300 representatives from all cohorts of the EIT Higher Education Initiative, the 2025 IVAP workshop in Krakow provided an excellent networking opportunity, says Vic Vansevenant. InnoBoost representatives from HAMK, TUS, Howest and Start-Up Lieira took part in the event. The program included a keynote speech, panels, workshops and a fair. After several months of online collaboration, the InnoBoost team also enjoyed the chance to reconnect in person.
The workshop serves as a launch for the new Cohort 4 projects and offers all cohorts the chance to share experiences, learn from each other, and build collaboration. The goal is to create a strong community that supports innovation and institutional change through 2030.
Anna Rantapero-Laine emphasized the networking opportunities offered by the workshop. Participating in the IVAP Workshop for the first time, she found it an excellent chance to connect with other projects and learn best practices for implementing EIT HEI initiatives. During the event, concrete collaboration ideas also emerged, such as organizing joint activities with other projects. Meeting her own project team face-to-face was equally important and strengthened the group’s cohesion. The workshop clearly highlighted the significant role these projects play in advancing innovation and startup ecosystems at the EU level.
Massimiliano Zanotto says that, as someone still relatively new to EU projects, the workshop was an excellent learning experience. It truly opened his eyes to how far EU initiatives can go in fostering collaboration, innovation, and real impact across institutions.
Kirsi Vesterinen found the day rewarding. The most rewarding aspect was getting to know our own project partners and building connections with other European participants. Many thanks to EIT for the excellent commitment to European collaboration and for a program that was truly rich in content. I also want to express my appreciation to EIT for the excellent work done.
At IVAP, RUN InnoBoost had the opportunity to learn from the best practices of other cohorts and innovation projects across Europe, gaining valuable insights into diverse approaches and methodologies. This exchange not only strengthened our own perspective but also opened new opportunities for collaboration, paving the way for joint initiatives and deeper connections within the European innovation ecosystem. – Vitor Ferreira, CEO startup leiria
The most concrete benefit was clearly peer learning from other projects. While the themes, innovation and entrepreneurship, are largely similar, each project has its own unique context. It was valuable to see how projects have been implemented in practice and how ambitious goals have been achieved says Anna Rantapero-Laine.
The interviewees were:
- Kirsi Vesterinen, Project Manager at HAMK
- Anna Rantapero-Laine, Senior Specialist at HAMK
- Vítor Ferreira, CEO of Startup Leiria
- Vic Vansevenant, Project Researcher at Howest
- Massimiliano Zanotto, Doctor, Innovation and entrepreneurship administator, TUS
Text: Katriina Peuhkuri, M.Soc.Sc. Project specialist HAMK
Photos: Vic Vansevenant, Project Researcher, Howest