EIC expert report: train people as well as fund projects

On 14 April 2022 the European Innovation Council published a short report from an expert subgroup that advocates a stronger, people-centered approach to deep-tech commercialisation. The subgroup recommends the EIC create two new deep-tech training programmes called the Trailblazer and the Pioneer. The stated aim is to develop the human capital needed to translate breakthrough science into marketable technologies while supporting the Union’s strategic autonomy.

Why this recommendation was made

The report frames the problem as less about a lack of good science and more about a lack of people prepared and willing to take the risks required to bring prototypes to market. It says the European innovation ecosystem is fragmented, with providers of support for deep-tech ventures sparse and often unable or unwilling to shoulder the high technical and commercial risk. The expert group concludes that without deliberate action to grow 'scientific entrepreneurs' Europe will underperform in converting research excellence into strategic, commercially viable technologies.

What the report recommends

The headline recommendation is creation of two ambitious, complementary deep-tech training programmes named Trailblazer and Pioneer. The report presents these as mechanisms to foster technological solutions and to realise human entrepreneurial talent in Europe. The recommendation is normative rather than highly prescriptive and leaves scope for the EIC to design the programmes in detail.

Context in the wider EU innovation landscape

The recommendation sits in the context of Horizon Europe and the EIC’s mission to back breakthrough innovation and scaleups. The EIC already runs instruments such as Pathfinder for early-stage research and the Accelerator for scaling companies, and it now operates with the EIC Fund which co-invests in companies. The subgroup’s proposal is intended to complement these instruments by addressing an upstream capability gap in human capital and tech-to-market skills.

The recommendation also seeks to plug gaps in a patchwork of national and regional initiatives. In many EU member states, entrepreneurship training and incubators focus on software or services and do not have the laboratories, certification guidance or investor networks that deep-tech ventures require. A Europe-level programme could offer scale, coordination and the specialised curricula that are otherwise rare.

Implementation considerations and practical challenges

Designing and delivering effective deep-tech training at scale is complex. The EIC would need to resolve questions of selection, curriculum content, duration, hands-on prototyping facilities, mentoring, links to investors and follow-on funding, intellectual property management and regulatory support. The report offers a menu of ideas but leaves operational detail to the EIC.

Other practical hurdles include ensuring geographic balance so that widening countries benefit, creating incentives that attract established scientists out of academia, integrating with existing EIC services such as the EIC Marketplace and business acceleration services, and coordinating with entities such as the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and national contact points.

Policy implications and strategic choices

If the EIC adopts the subgroup’s recommendations it will be making a strategic shift toward capability building as well as financing. That will require investment in people and institutions, and a willingness to accept long horizons for returns. It would also mean the EIC taking a more active role in shaping teams and portfolios rather than acting only as an external funder.

From a policy perspective the case for action is credible. Europe’s industrial strategy and security discussions increasingly reference strategic autonomy in key technologies. Converting state of the art research into resilient, sovereign capabilities often depends as much on the presence of capable founders and translational teams as it does on funding levels.

Sceptical takeaways

The report rightly identifies a genuine bottleneck. However, training programmes alone will not be a silver bullet. They have to be combined with coherent financing pathways, access to prototyping infrastructure, favourable procurement policies and patient capital. The EIC will need to guard against producing graduates who remain trapped in academic entrepreneurship without credible routes to scale. Careful evaluation frameworks and pilot phases are essential before any large roll out.

Next steps and recommendations for the EIC and policymakers

The subgroup’s recommendation provides a starting point. Practical next steps for the EIC could include designing small, intensive pilot cohorts for Trailblazer and Pioneer, defining measurable success criteria, coordinating with national and regional actors to avoid duplication, identifying hands-on facilities for prototyping, and securing sustained funding for multi-year follow-up.

Finally, coherence across EU initiatives is important. If the EIC implements the Trailblazer and Pioneer programmes they should be explicitly designed to complement existing instruments and to serve as clear pathways into the EIC Accelerator and the EIC Fund rather than as parallel or competing tracks.

Where to read more

The recommendation appears in the subgroup’s Report on Deep-Tech Entrepreneurship Training published by the European Innovation Council on 14 April 2022. The subgroup was formed by EISMEA and led by Cheryl Martin to advise on Tech to Market activities and the EIC Marketplace.