From lab to leadership: a shift in perspective

Professor Krishna Agarwal of the Arctic University of Norway (UiT) entered the EIC Women Leadership Programme primarily to gain entrepreneurial skills in preparation for spinning out a company from her lab’s research. Instead she describes a wider transformation. Conversations with peers, tailored mentoring and business coaching changed how she thinks about leadership and gendered career realities. Her research team has produced multiple innovations, most notably Spermotile, a MedTech solution targeting male-factor infertility. The programme offered practical tools and new awareness about how different women experience the innovation ecosystem.

Science, product and promise: what Spermotile claims to do

Krishna’s lab works at the intersection of optics, biology and medical technology. The team has developed several imaging and analysis tools aimed at observing nanoscale processes inside cells. One product emerging from that work is Spermotile, which the team positions as a means to improve assisted reproductive technology outcomes by selecting the highest quality sperm for fertilisation. On company pages and outreach the founding team lists a range of awards, public funding milestones and early publications. The company describes a proprietary, non-chemical filtration method paired with computer-assisted semen analysis and AI-based detection to identify what it calls ‘star sperms.’

Spermotile’s public claims include improving ART success rates by up to 20 percent and reducing the number of cycles needed per patient. The company also highlights a string of recognitions and funding: EIC Transition award, national RCN verification funding in Norway, public funding exceeding 4 million euros, features in media outlets, and publications including a fertility research journal and a computer vision conference workshop. The company states its selection technology is chemical-free and patent-pending.

Those claims are significant if borne out by independent clinical trials. But in MedTech, early technical promise often meets three practical barriers: rigorous clinical validation that demonstrates meaningful improvement in live birth rates or other accepted endpoints, regulatory approval paths that vary across markets, and the willingness of clinics and payers to adopt and reimburse new laboratory workflows. The company’s published outputs and awards are a positive sign, but they do not substitute for prospective, randomized clinical studies and post-market surveillance data.

What the EIC Women Leadership Programme offered Krishna

Krishna joined the 7th cohort of the EIC Women Leadership Programme looking for concrete entrepreneurship training to help spin out Spermotile. Beyond practical sessions on market analysis and go-to-market strategy she highlights two transformative aspects: listening to other women’s experiences and the tailored mentor and coach pairing. The programme is designed not only to teach business tools but to build networks and reshape leadership approaches through shared narratives and targeted one-to-one support.

Krishna also found value in sessions on conflict management, decision making and work-life balance. For senior researchers and founders these may appear familiar, yet the programme’s structured approach and active exercises allowed participants to apply learnings immediately to questions they were carrying into the training.

How the programme works and who it reaches

Launched as a pilot in 2021, the EIC Women Leadership Programme is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services and has run multiple cohorts. The stated aim is to level the playing field in deep-tech and science-based entrepreneurship by combining training, mentoring, networking and outreach. Programme elements include weekly interactive training sessions, an in-person bootcamp, personal mentorship and business coaching, plus alumni networking and a supporting podcast called SheEIC. Participation is limited to women affiliated with EIC or EIT-funded projects and similar beneficiary groups.

The EIC Business Acceleration Services publish broader ecosystem figures to show reach. These include thousands of coaching interactions and financial outcomes associated with EIC awardees. The Women Leadership Programme sits within that ecosystem and reports high self-reported skill gains among alumnae. Self-reported results are informative but are not the same as measured changes in funding outcomes, company survival, or commercial scaling over multi-year horizons.

Who is eligible and how selection works

Eligibility is restricted to women who are founders, CEOs or leaders within organisations that have benefited from EIC or EIT funding instruments. These include EIC Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator, Women TechEU and EIT KICs among others. Applicants must submit a short motivation, describe career aspirations and challenges, and upload a CV. Applications are reviewed by a panel of experts with entrepreneurial and mentoring experience.

Why programmes like this matter and where to be cautious

Targeted leadership programmes can help address gaps in networks, investor access and entrepreneurial know-how that disproportionately affect women in deep-tech. Krishna’s testimony illustrates the less tangible benefits that come from peer exchange and perspective shifts about leadership. That social capital can be critical for founders navigating fundraising and scaling decisions.

There are caveats. First, participation alone does not guarantee improved commercial outcomes. Evaluations should track long-term indicators such as fundraising volumes, revenue growth, exits and clinical adoption for MedTech companies. Second, programmes that are limited to already-funded communities may not reach women who are earlier in the pipeline or in under-resourced ecosystems. Third, for MedTech ventures like Spermotile, success also depends on rigorous clinical evidence, regulatory approval, integration into clinical workflows and payer acceptance.

Practical next steps for Krishna, Spermotile and similar teams

Krishna said the programme helped her become a more empathetic and effective leader. For Spermotile the immediate priorities are predictable: design and run clinical studies that demonstrate a meaningful effect on accepted ART outcomes, make the regulatory pathway explicit for target markets, and engage early with clinical partners and laboratory managers to design integration pilots. On the leadership side, continuing to use mentorship and coaching for fundraising preparation and partner introductions will be essential.

For policymakers and programme designers the takeaways include measuring long-term outcomes beyond self-reported skills gains and improving access for women who are not yet in well-funded networks. A combination of capability building, funding, procurement pathways and clinical validation support is needed if gender-focused initiatives are to translate into more women-led companies reaching market scale.

How to follow up or get involved

The EIC Women Leadership Programme is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services and communicates updates through the EIC Community Platform and the EIC BAS newsletter. Queries about the programme can be sent via the EIC Community contact page selecting the 'EIC Women Leadership Programme' category. The programme also maintains an alumni LinkedIn group and the SheEIC podcast that features alumnae conversations and practical guidance.

Spermotile has public-facing material describing its technology, awards and funding history. Interested clinicians, potential partners or investors should request access to study data, validation reports and regulatory plans before relying on headline claims about effectiveness.

Final assessment

Krishna Agarwal’s experience illustrates the non-linear value of leadership programmes. For an experienced scientist preparing to translate research into a company, the combination of technical coaching and the social insight from women peers can change leadership approaches and support immediate business planning. That said, translating laboratory innovation into clinical impact is a separate and demanding process. Robust, transparent evidence and realistic regulatory and commercial strategies will determine whether innovations like Spermotile become widely adopted tools that improve ART outcomes.