How InnoNext placed an ERC-trained postdoc at EIC-backed Compular and what it reveals about talent pipelines

Brussels, July 22nd 2026

Summary

›InnoNext placed postdoctoral researcher Simone Manti from Aarhus University into Compular, an EIC Accelerator awardee developing AI solutions for chemistry and materials, through a fully funded internship.
›Compular used the internship to keep a strategic AI R&D project moving without recruiting a permanent specialist amid budget and capacity constraints.
›The placement exposed a researcher to agile industry practice, domain learning outside academia, and short-term ownership of a commercially oriented R&D task.
›The case illustrates benefits of mobility programmes for knowledge transfer, but also the limits of short internships for long term team building and commercialisation.

Bridging lab expertise and product development: the Compular–Simone Manti InnoNext placement

In mid 2026 Compular, an EIC Accelerator-backed company working on AI-driven solutions for chemical and materials innovation, brought in postdoctoral researcher Simone Manti through InnoNext, a fully funded internship scheme run under the EIC Business Acceleration Services. The placement illustrates how Europe’s funded talent initiatives attempt to connect academic expertise to early stage product work. It also highlights common frictions in translating research prototypes into industry grade projects and the trade offs of short, funded internships versus permanent hires.

The situation at Compular

Compular:An EIC Accelerator awardee focused on AI applications for chemical and materials discovery. The company had developed a first prototype for an AI-powered capability with apparent commercial potential but lacked in-house AI specialists and sufficient management bandwidth to push the prototype into a strategic R&D track.

Company challenge:Compular needed someone to take ownership of a strategic AI project full time. Hiring a permanent specialist was difficult because of short term budget constraints. The management team could not allocate the continuous time required to mature the project internally.

Founder and CEO Rasmus Andersson said the company lacked both the technical skills and the internal bandwidth to develop the prototype further, and viewed InnoNext as a way to keep the project moving without an immediate full time hire. The company used the programme to match to outside research talent with the required AI expertise.

Who was placed and why the fit mattered

Candidate profile:Simone Manti is a postdoctoral researcher from Aarhus University. He had worked for more than three years on the ERC-funded ALPS project, which focuses on AI-based learning for physical simulation. His expertise is in computational research and machine learning applied to physics and simulation problems.

Why the match worked:Compular’s immediate need was AI and modelling capability to advance a prototype. Simone’s background in algorithm development and modelling from the ALPS project closely matched those needs. InnoNext provided the mechanism to place him in a role with ownership of the R&D task and an opportunity to adapt academic research methods to industrial constraints.

What InnoNext is and how it operates

InnoNext overview:InnoNext is an initiative under the EIC Business Acceleration Services designed to connect researchers funded by major EU programmes with innovative European start ups and SMEs through fully funded internships. Eligible talent pools include researchers from EIC, ERC, MSCA, EIT, and projects funded by Research Infrastructures. Hosting companies are typically EIC-supported start ups and SMEs. Internships generally run between three and six months and are fully funded to remove the short term hiring cost for hosts.

The InnoNext platform provides profile creation, AI-assisted matchmaking, and administrative support. The programme’s stated objectives include increasing competitiveness of EU companies, promoting knowledge transfer, and giving researchers industry exposure. Open calls for InnoNext had been extended through 31 July 2027, reflecting the initiative’s active recruitment of both hosting companies and talents.

How the placement worked in practice

Once matched, Simone joined Compular to lead the R&D project. The work was mostly remote at first. The company and the researcher used the internship period to translate prototype capability into a structured development roadmap. Simone adapted his research approaches to faster iterative cycles and product constraints. An in person, four day visit to Compular’s Gothenburg offices was important for team integration and organisational culture.

Researcher to industry transition:Simone described learning to balance quality and speed, and benefiting from agile practices and continuous feedback loops. He noted that academia rarely trains researchers to prioritise incremental delivery under tight commercial timelines. Simone also picked up domain knowledge in chemistry despite no formal chemistry training, showing how advanced computational skills are transferable across domains.

Technical and professional lessons

Three concrete takeaways emerge from the placement. First, skilled computational researchers can accelerate product development when they are given ownership and clear deliverables. Second, short placements force a compressed learning curve that privileges practical trade offs between model performance and engineering constraints. Third, in person contact after remote collaboration remains valuable for team cohesion and knowledge transfer.

On agile and continuous feedback loops:Agile methodologies describe practices for incremental delivery, short development cycles, and continuous user feedback. In an R&D setting this looks like frequent small experiments, rapid model iteration, and regular checkpoints with product stakeholders. For researchers accustomed to long experimentation cycles, adopting these practices can materially change the pace of progress.

Benefits and limits of the InnoNext model

The Compular case highlights strengths of the InnoNext approach. Companies get access to funded specialised labour, researchers gain industrial exposure and ownership experience, and European programmes aim to boost cross sector knowledge flows. However, there are structural limits. Internships are time limited and do not automatically produce lasting hires. Transfer of tacit knowledge and long term team capability typically require sustained investment beyond a three to six month placement. Short funded internships may be a solution for bridging immediate capability gaps, but they are not a substitute for strategic recruitment or internal capability building when products require ongoing maintenance and scaling.

Practical caveats for companies:Using an internship to advance a strategic project can work, but companies should plan for knowledge retention, handover, and possible transition to permanent employment. Funding removes immediate salary cost but does not remove the need to onboard, supervise, and integrate the researcher into product processes.

Context in the EU innovation ecosystem

InnoNext sits alongside other EIC and Horizon Europe measures to accelerate technology commercialisation. The EIC Business Acceleration Services umbrella includes coaching, investor introduction, procurement matchmaking, and the EIC Service Catalogue. These programmes are designed to address common scaling blockers for deep tech companies, such as access to talent, procurement channels, and investor readiness. In practice, talent programmes help to unblock specific technical bottlenecks but must be combined with other services to convert R&D into sustained commercial growth.

Policy perspective:EU funding instruments try to overcome structural gaps between academia and startups. Matching schemes reduce search costs and provide short term capacity. Yet systemic challenges remain, including the regional distribution of talent, the gap between project work and long term hiring budgets, and the need for company side mentoring on IP, regulation, and market development.

Voices from the placement

Compular’s CEO, Rasmus Andersson, framed InnoNext as a way to keep a strategic project moving when the company could not hire immediately. Simone reflected on the practice of balancing quality and speed and the productivity gains from continuous feedback. He also described the boost to belonging and professional identity after an in person visit to Gothenburg. His advice to peers was direct: apply to programmes like InnoNext and do not be held back by imposter syndrome.

Recommendations and next steps for potential participants

For researchers: if you are considering industry exposure, short funded internships offer a low risk way to test applied career routes while contributing to tangible products. Prepare to learn domain knowledge quickly and to prioritise iterative delivery over long single experiments. For companies: use the internship to solve a defined, time boxed technical problem and plan from day one for handover, retention or transition if the work is strategic. For policymakers: consider complementary measures that help convert short placements into longer term hires when needed, such as matching subsidies for conversion to permanent roles or support for onboarding and IP management.

Actor	Role in placement	Key benefits	Limitations
Compular (EIC Accelerator awardee)	Host company, defined R&D task and supervision	Access to specialised AI research capability without short term hire cost	Placement is temporary, requires onboarding and knowledge retention planning
Simone Manti (postdoc, Aarhus University, ALPS project)	Visiting researcher applying computational expertise to product problem	Industry exposure, ownership of strategic project, accelerated professional development	Short timeframe limits depth of product lifecycle involvement
InnoNext / EIC Business Acceleration Services	Matchmaking, fully funded internship facilitation	Reduces search and initial salary costs, connects EU-funded talent pools with startups	Internships are time limited and not a full employment pipeline

Practical information and resources

If you are a researcher or an innovative company interested in similar opportunities, InnoNext accepts applications from eligible researchers and hosting companies. The programme connects candidates from EIC, ERC, MSCA, EIT and Research Infrastructure funding lines with EIC-backed start ups and SMEs. As of mid 2026 the InnoNext open call window was extended through 31 July 2027. Detailed eligibility rules and the matchmaking platform are available on the InnoNext website.

Where to learn more:Visit the InnoNext platform and the EIC Business Acceleration Services pages for application details, eligibility criteria and current open calls.