EIC Tech to Market launches peer learning for deep tech entrepreneurship support
- ›The EIC Tech to Market Entrepreneurship Programme held its first online Peer Learning Workshop on 19 December 2023 with 34 participants from 16 EU countries.
- ›Participants identified three priority needs for deep tech researchers aiming to found ventures: team building, entrepreneurial and business development training, and early funding support.
- ›Workshop goals include building a cross‑programme collaborative ecosystem, strengthening Technology Transfer Office roles, and widening access to EIC T2M services.
- ›Organisers will follow up with an in person workshop at the EIC Summit on 18 March 2024 and invite wider participation through an application form.
- ›Practical obstacles remain, including institutional culture, inconsistent TTO capacity across Europe, and the persistent early stage funding gap for deep tech.
First EIC Tech to Market Peer Learning Workshop seeks practical cross programme fixes for deep tech incubation
The EIC Tech to Market Entrepreneurship Programme convened its first Peer Learning Workshop online on 19 December 2023. The session was designed as an initial step in a longer peer learning process. Its stated aims were to enable mutual learning across organisations that support deep tech researchers, to surface effective practices and tools, and to begin building collaborations that improve the transition from lab to market for promising technologies.
Format, attendance and immediate objectives
Thirty four participants from 16 different EU countries took part. Observers included representatives from the EIC Tech to Market Entrepreneurship and Venture Building Programme and from EISMEA. The meeting opened with a plenary that introduced the EIC Tech to Market Programme and featured presentations from two established entrepreneurship programmes. These were iCorps by Stephen O'Driscoll and RISE by CNRS Innovation. The plenary was followed by working group discussions intended to surface concrete needs, barriers and potential collaborative actions.
What participants identified as the top needs
| Identified Need | Concrete forms of support discussed | Rationale and common obstacles |
| Team building | Recruitment services, entrepreneurs in residence, team coaching | Research teams lack commercial skills and timing for spin out is uncertain |
| Entrepreneurial training | Bootcamps, business validation programmes, IP and market training | Deep tech requires longer validation and specialised know how |
| Funding | Early grants, investor matchmaking, readiness training | Long development timelines and capital intensity create financing mismatch |
Collaboration goals and practical measures proposed
Participants also flagged a set of realistic implementation gaps. These include the diversity of national innovation systems across the EU which complicates harmonisation, the uneven capacity and incentives inside TTOs, legal and administrative barriers to cross border collaboration, and the need for sustainable financing for any expanded services.
Topics suggested for the ongoing peer learning series
Workshop attendees proposed a focused set of themes for future sessions. These were ecosystem development and collaboration, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in research settings, early stage team building, tailoring offer of support services to deep tech needs, and agreeing common practices and definitions for the sector.
Conclusion, next steps and caveats
The First EIC Tech to Market Peer Learning Workshop established a first channel for dialogue among organisations that support deep tech entrepreneurs. Attendees expressed willingness to collaborate with EIC programmes and local initiatives and showed interest in identifying complementarities. The organisers framed the peer learning process as an action to capitalise on EIC best practices and to iterate on service design with the goal of improving impact at EU level.
Practical follow up includes a second workshop scheduled in person on 18 March 2024 from 9.00 to 12.30 CET held during the EIC Summit 2024 in Brussels. Participants from the first workshop were invited to join and external parties were asked to express interest via an application form. For further administrative details and support the EIC Community helpdesk can be contacted by selecting EIC Tech to Market Entrepreneurship Programme.
Readers should note two operational caveats. The EIC Tech to Market Programme was reported as paused and expected to resume activities in 2026. Until December 2024 the entrepreneurship and venture building strands were implemented by named providers. Calls for experts and entrepreneurs in residence were closed at the time of the EIC pages, with a note that they may reopen in 2026. These timing and delivery uncertainties matter because continuity of services and available expertise affect whether collaborative ideas can be turned into durable operational changes.
| Item | Detail |
| First workshop date | 19 December 2023 |
| Participants | 34 participants from 16 EU countries plus EIC and EISMEA observers |
| Featured programmes | iCorps by Stephen O'Driscoll and RISE by CNRS Innovation |
| Key needs identified | Team building, entrepreneurial training, early funding support |
| Next workshop | In person on 18 March 2024 at EIC Summit, Brussels |
| Programme status | EIC Tech to Market reported as paused and expected to resume in 2026 |
How practitioners and policymakers should read these outcomes
The workshop outcomes reflect common, long standing frictions in European deep tech ecosystems. The proposals are sensible in that they emphasise pragmatic, operational fixes such as recruitment support and harmonised TTO practices. They are less specific on resourcing and governance which are the real tests. For the peer learning process to deliver measurable results it will need clear commitments on funding, responsibilities and timelines. Otherwise the workshop risks producing a catalogue of sensible ideas that lack follow through.
If you want to engage with the next phase express interest through the EIC application channel and use the EIC Community helpdesk to clarify the current status of specific services and calls. Policy makers and institutional leaders should treat the workshop outputs as a starting point and press for concrete pilots that can be evaluated across member states.