EIC Women Leadership Programme 2026 kick-off

The European Innovation Council officially launched its 2026 EIC Women Leadership Programme at a kick-off event in Brussels on 2 June 2026. The programme convened 63 women researchers, founders, entrepreneurs and innovators from across Europe. It is built as a multi-month leadership and skills journey combining one to one mentoring, business coaching, expert-led masterclasses and networking opportunities with investors and ecosystem stakeholders. The stated goals are to strengthen participants confidence, leadership capabilities, strategic decision-making and entrepreneurial skills.

Kick-off event, participants and context

The meeting opened with remarks from Momchil Sabev, Director of the European Innovation and SMEs Executive Agency, who welcomed the new cohorts and outlined the EIC commitment to supporting women leaders. The event included icebreaker exercises, plenary sessions and afternoon workshops. Alumnae from previous editions attended to share their experiences and to participate in networking activities, creating immediate peer-to-peer exchange between past and present cohorts.

From a policy perspective, the programme sits within the EIC Business Acceleration Services. It joins a portfolio of targeted actions aimed at raising women s participation and visibility across the EU innovation ecosystem. The initiative is presented as part of the EIC s response to persistent gender imbalances in research leadership and startup funding.

Programme design and learning tracks

Core elements include personalised mentoring matched to individual career challenges, business coaching delivered by expert practitioners, and weekly interactive masterclasses. Topics reported for masterclasses include leadership, executive presence, strategic decision-making, fundraising, business growth, commercialisation, negotiation, visibility and ecosystem engagement. The sessions are scheduled as a mix of virtual and in-person meetings to balance accessibility with intensive face to face learning.

Self-leadership and decision-making as central themes

A central focus of the kick-off was self-leadership. An interactive workshop examined confidence building and decision-making, challenging the assumption that confidence is purely capability driven. Facilitators encouraged participants to shift attention from limitations to strengths, and to treat indecision as a form of decision. The exercises emphasised reflection, peer feedback and deliberate practice as routes to increase resilience and improve leadership actions under uncertainty.

Alumnae stories and peer learning

Alumnae from earlier editions contributed to the afternoon sessions. Veronika Oudova, EIC Ambassador, programme alumna and Co-founder and former CEO of S-Biomedic, participated in a fireside chat sharing decisions and lessons from entrepreneurship. Other alumnae who spoke included Fanny Giannou, Founder and CEO of Alithea Biotechnology, and Laurie Calvet, research scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. They reflected on how mentoring, coaching and networking supported their trajectories.

These testimonies provided practical insights on goal setting, overcoming barriers and navigating the transition between research and commercialisation. They also illustrated the common challenge of measuring long term impact for leadership programmes. Anecdotal success and increased confidence are valuable but they do not substitute for systematic outcome tracking across career progression, funding outcomes and company performance.

Authority, presence and impact workshop

The afternoon workshop concentrated on three leadership dimensions: authority, presence and impact. Participants worked in small groups to map their leadership styles, identify strengths and behaviours to develop, and practise communication techniques. Exercise topics included building credibility through expertise, creating authentic presence in interactions and increasing influence to drive organisational change.

Group work emphasised peer challenge and practical commitments. Participants left with concrete practice goals to reinforce public presence, to negotiate more effectively and to increase visibility within their ecosystems.

Looking ahead for the 2026 cohort and beyond

Following the kick-off, the 2026 cohort will continue with scheduled one to one mentoring and coaching, masterclasses and networking events over the coming months. Participants will be invited into the EIC Women Leadership alumni network which uses LinkedIn and periodic gatherings to maintain ties and to surface further engagement opportunities such as speaking or pitching slots.

Programme purpose and EIC wider commitments

The EIC reports progress metrics to show growing representation in its funding portfolios. In 2024, 30 percent of companies supported in the EIC Accelerator were women led, representing 42 companies that year. The overall EIC Accelerator portfolio reportedly contained 134 women led companies or 19 percent of the portfolio. Separately 24 percent of EIC Pathfinder projects and 23 percent of EIC Transition projects are coordinated by women. The EIC also notes prioritisation measures such as inviting women CEOs to Accelerator interviews.

These figures indicate movement but they are not a complete answer. Increasing percentages within funded cohorts can mask persistent regional imbalances, sector skews and the concentrated nature of follow on private capital. Leadership programmes help with networks and skills but do not directly remove structural barriers such as investor bias, limited access to follow on finance and unequal caregiving responsibilities that affect career trajectories.

Implications and limitations

The EIC Women Leadership Programme is a credible addition to EU efforts to improve gender representation in innovation. Its strengths are tailored content, senior mentors and direct exposure to investors. However the initiative should be evaluated against measurable long term outcomes such as follow on funding secured, leadership appointments, company growth and research commercialisation success. Transparent outcome metrics would make it easier to judge the programme s contribution relative to other interventions.

Policymakers and programme managers should also connect leadership training with systemic actions that address capital flows, procurement rules, research commercialisation pathways and regional innovation capacity. Leadership development is necessary but not sufficient to close the gender gap in deep tech and research based businesses.

Practical contacts and further resources

For questions about the EIC Women Leadership Programme use the EIC Community contact page and choose the relevant programme category. Those interested in future cohorts are advised to subscribe to the EIC BAS newsletter and the EIC Community updates to receive calls for applications and related announcements.