International Women’s Day: Two EIC Women Leadership Programme alumni on science, tech and equity

Brussels, March 8th 2023

Summary

›The European Innovation Council highlights two alumni of its Women Leadership Programme on International Women’s Day 2023.
›Marina Cretich, a senior scientist at Italy’s National Research Council, leads EIC-funded research on extracellular vesicles with diagnostic and therapeutic potential.
›Martine van de Gaar, CEO and co-founder of Linksight, focuses on technology-driven data solutions for healthcare while building a company and investor relationships.
›Both interviewees describe incremental progress on gender equity, persistent barriers at the interface of science and economic power, and practical advice for women entering science or tech.
›The EIC Women Leadership Programme provides training, mentoring and business coaching and ran a cohort in spring 2023 with the open call closing on 17 March 2023.

Two alumni of the EIC Women Leadership Programme on careers, equity and leadership

To mark International Women’s Day 2023 and its theme #EmbraceEquity the European Innovation Council invited two former participants of its Women Leadership Programme to discuss careers in science and tech and the state of gender equity in European innovation. The conversations with Marina Cretich and Martine van de Gaar touch on early inspirations, technical work, leadership, persistent barriers and practical advice for women considering careers in research or entrepreneurial technology.

Profiles: from laboratory science to data-driven health technology

Marina Cretich, role and focus:Marina Cretich is a Senior Scientist at the National Research Council of Italy. She leads projects that develop new materials and technologies for diagnostics. At the time of the interview she coordinated an EIC-funded project called MARVEL, which aims to develop innovative tools to isolate and manipulate extracellular vesicles for applications in diagnostics and therapy.

Martine van de Gaar, role and focus:Martine van de Gaar is CEO and co-founder of Linksight. Her work focuses on advancing technology and data solutions in healthcare. As CEO she balances external engagement with investors and customers alongside internal company building and ensuring a strong customer experience.

Why they started and what they find rewarding

Both women trace their careers to formative encounters and to a sense that rigorous work can produce meaningful impact. Cretich credits a demanding and charismatic high school teacher for instilling the belief that complex biological processes become understandable with honest research. She described the emotional satisfaction when experiments validate a hypothesis. Van de Gaar said she was driven by seeing technology solve societal problems and by the prospect of improving quality of life for patients through better data and tools.

Explaining key technical concepts

Extracellular vesicles explained:Extracellular vesicles or EVs are tiny membrane-bound particles released by cells into bodily fluids. They carry molecular cargo such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids and act as communication vehicles between cells. Because EVs reflect the physiological state of their parent cells they are being investigated as biomarkers for liquid biopsy diagnostics and as vehicles for cell-free therapeutic approaches. Translating EV science into routine clinical products faces technical challenges including consistent isolation at scale, purity, and reproducible characterisation.

What scalable EV isolation would change:If researchers can reliably isolate small EVs at laboratory and manufacturing scales in high purity new clinical pathways become viable. This includes EV-based diagnostics that can stratify disease or monitor treatment, and EV-based therapeutics for regenerative medicine. Moving from niche techniques to clinical grade manufacturing requires robust affinity technologies, standardisation and regulatory alignment.

Where technology and data meet healthcare, companies such as Linksight seek to enable insights from distributed datasets without moving patient data. Privacy preserving collaborations can allow multiple institutions to extract joint intelligence from their data while keeping sensitive records at source. Techniques commonly discussed in this problem space include federated learning and cryptographic methods but each approach has trade offs in complexity, performance and regulatory interpretation.

Equity, representation and career barriers

Both interviewees said things are improving but change is gradual. Cretich noted that many scientific subfields have a strong presence of women researchers and leaders in academic roles such as journal editors and society executives. However she cautioned that representation shifts when economic power and top management positions are at stake. Van de Gaar agreed that leadership and executive roles are still male dominated but said she sees more women CEOs emerging.

On the meaning of equity beyond gender:Van de Gaar emphasised that equity also means accommodating different viewpoints, cultural backgrounds and personal circumstances. For her equity is not limited to numerical gender balance but includes inclusive practices that broaden participation and leadership styles.

Practical steps companies can take

Suggested actions from the interviewees focus on correcting measurable gaps and changing decision habits. They urged equal pay and benefits across genders as a starting point and recommended active efforts to challenge default or conservative hiring choices. The broader implication is that organisations must pair policy with sustained cultural change to create credible pathways to leadership for underrepresented groups.

Who inspired them and what power means

Cretich pointed to personal family stories as early influences and singled out Marcella Chiari, a research director who mentored her early career. She also mentioned Amalia Ercoli-Finzi, a prominent aerospace engineer who publicly challenged gender stereotypes and whose professional honours include an asteroid named after her. For Cretich power is the capacity to affect a field and to change people’s lives. Van de Gaar highlighted an example from a public sector director who demonstrated that one can be an effective leader and a committed parent. For her power is the ability to make a positive difference for those around you.

Personal challenges and advice

Cretich said an important challenge has been finding the self confidence to speak up in uncomfortable situations and to persist with ideas. Van de Gaar described the personal work of shedding others’ expectations and learning to pursue her own ambitions. Their advice to women considering science or tech careers is practical. Cretich recommended aiming high, planning ambitious goals and surrounding oneself with positive collaborators. Van de Gaar’s message was simple and direct. You can do it.

About the EIC Women Leadership Programme and related EIC efforts

The EIC Women Leadership Programme is an initiative by the European Innovation Council in partnership with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. It offers recurring cohorts of tailored leadership training, networking events, personal mentoring and business coaching for women researchers and entrepreneurs associated with EIC and EIT beneficiary communities.

Programme component	What it offers	Format and timing
Training sessions	Negotiation, pitching, leadership styles, marketing and public speaking with interactive exercises	Weekly 2 hour morning sessions during business days with expert trainers
Networking	Events and keynote moments to expand professional contacts and visibility	Virtual and in-person networking activities and peer exchanges
Mentoring and coaching	Individual mentoring by experienced CEOs or investors and business coaching for company challenges	Regular one to one meetings and tailored coaching
Alumni community	LinkedIn group, alumni gatherings and speaking and pitching opportunities	Ongoing after programme completion

Eligibility and application timing:The programme runs cohorts for two tracks. One is for experienced entrepreneurial leaders such as co founders and c suite executives. The other is for women researchers seeking to translate research into commercial ventures. Applications for the third cohort in 2023 closed on 17 March 2023 and the cohort ran from April to June 2023. Calls are recurring and future cohorts were expected to open in spring 2026 according to later programme information.

EIC context and selective metrics:The EIC has highlighted specific outcomes related to women innovators as part of a broader strategy to improve representation. In 2024 the EIC reported that 30 percent of companies supported under the EIC Accelerator that year were women led and that the overall portfolio included 134 women led companies or 19 percent. The EIC also reported that 24 percent of projects supported under the EIC Pathfinder and 23 percent of EIC Transition projects were coordinated by women. These figures indicate progress but also underscore the remaining gap to parity in funding and leadership.

Programme outputs and resources

Beyond training and mentoring the WLP produces a public podcast series called SheEIC. Episodes address themes such as building a support network, communication strategies, translating research into business, fundraising and decision making in technology leadership. Alumni are invited to join a LinkedIn group to maintain networks and access follow up opportunities.

Assessment and caveats

Initiatives such as the EIC Women Leadership Programme play an important role in skills development and networking. They are however one set of measures among many that are needed to address structural imbalances. Closing gender gaps in innovation requires changes to funding practices, organisational cultures, transparent pay and promotion policies and interventions that reach underrepresented regions and communities across the EU. Public programmes can catalyse change but their impact depends on scale, sustained funding and clear metrics that track progression from training to measurable leadership and funding outcomes.

How to follow up

Interested applicants and ecosystem stakeholders should monitor the EIC Community platform and the EIC BAS newsletter for future open calls. For questions about the Women Leadership Programme the EIC Community provides a contact channel and a helpdesk choice specifically for the programme.