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The event’s overarching theme was From Ideas to Impact, which explored how Europe can build a lifelong learning ecosystem, strengthen its talent pipelines, and connect education with innovation.

The four initiatives were:

• EIT Skills Academies
• EIT Deep Tech Talent
• EIT Women and Girls in STEM
• EIT Higher Education

Over 800 participants were welcomed, including innovators, educators, and decision-makers, to shape the future of education and skills across Europe.

Day one: investing in talent can transform knowledge into innovation

The first Day kicked off with inspiring words from high-level speakers, including Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy in Cyprus, and Stefan Dobrev, Governing Board Chairperson of the EIT. They highlighted the Europe’s urgent need to align education with the demands of a rapidly changing labour market.  

Throughout the morning, panels and discussions focused on the Union of Skills strategy and the STEM education plan via theEIT Skills Academies and EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative. Experts and Researchers agreed that Europe faces both a skills shortage and an innovation gap, and that education alone is not enough; students and professionals must gain the ability to translate research into practical solutions.

Europe at a crossroads: skills and innovation

Europe faces growing global competition and an innovation gap compared to other major economies: skills shortages limit productivity, especially in tech-driven sectors; education outcomes may be misaligned with labour market needs, particularly in STEM and emerging technologies. The Union of Skills strategy places education and skills development at the heart of EU priorities.

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The EIT’s Knowledge Triangle model is central to the effort to link education, research, and business, and EIT Skills Academies act as practical bridges between curricula and labour market demand, with a new European Advanced Materials Academy joining the network. Failure is recognized as a natural part of innovation, while gender inclusivity and diversity are emphasized as core drivers of creative solutions.

Existing industries adapting to future needs

The afternoon sessions focused on and the importance of digital skills to industries such as manufacturing, mining, and raw materials. These sectors are all under pressure to transform rapidly, adopting green and digital technologies while facing talent shortages.

Speakers underlined the importance of changing public perception: industries must show young people that modern manufacturing and mining are high-tech, innovative, and meaningful careers. These sectors are undergoing a green and digital transformation: new electrification, battery, automation, and regulation compliance factors require entirely new skill sets, and European manufacturing and mining face talent shortages at all levels.

EIT’s Knowledge Triangle – Source: EIT Manufacturing

Rethinking education for an uncertain future

Students seek stability but face rapid technological and societal change, requiring flexible pathways and modular learning, mechanisms like micro-credentials, recognition of prior learning, and industry co-designed curricula enable agility and resilience. Incorporating AI into practical, applied learning can drive engagement, with personalization and live assessment can make learning tangible.

AI skills demand precise classification:

• Tier 0: AI-literate users in non-technical roles
• Tier 1: Technical professionals using AI tools
• Tier 2: Highly specialized AI developers and researchers

Europe has a surplus in Tier 1, but gaps in AI literacy (Tier 0) and deep AI expertise (Tier 2), with gender imbalances concentrated in Tier 2. Tailored policy and training are crucial to avoid misallocation of resources and ensure inclusivity.

Key takeaways

• Europe must not only produce skilled workers but redesign the attractiveness of industries, modular learning pathways, and hands-on ecosystems.
• Future competitiveness relies on co-created curricula, industry engagement, flexible learning models, and a culture that embraces experimentation and risk-taking.
• Practical skills, entrepreneurial mindset, courage, curiosity, and adaptability are becoming as vital as technical knowledge.
• The EIT remains a systemic connector, turning strategic discussions into immediate workforce impact while shaping a resilient, innovation-ready Europe.

Day two: inclusion is as asset, collaboration is crucial

The second day centred around two themes: the morning session focused on The Women and Girls in STEM (via its “Girls Go Circular” component), and the afternoon was focused on EIT Higher Education, through the lens of the EIT Higher Education Initiative.

Women and girls enrich the tech and STEM industries

The morning began with the announcement of Girls Go STEM, part of the EIT Women and Girls in STEM initiative. Next, a panel explored paths in cybersecurity – not only coding but also design, psychology, law, and policy, emphasising the importance of diverse perspectives and elevating women in tech roles.

In a ‘fireside chat’, Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Finnish video game developer Colossal Order, told the story of her life in tech, and described her experience breaking into and thriving in the game development industry, offering advice to teen students (especially girls) considering tech careers.

A highlight of the morning was the Student Cybersecurity Challenge Finale, in which three finalist teams from different countries pitched cybersecurity ideas to a jury of prominent female tech workers and researchers, with a prize (a networking trip to Cambridge) on offer via Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

The winner was the LegIT project from Cyprus, presented by Aanvi Tandon and Sophia Cagnetti. Their project uses AI to turn long, complicated Terms & Conditions into clear, quick summaries so users can save time, understand what they are agreeing to, and make informed choices about their data.

Higher education isn’t an ivory tower

The afternoon session focused on the connections between higher education and industry through the lens of the EIT Higher Education Initiative.

A kick-off session outlined the purpose, strategic relevance, contributions to EU priorities of the EIT Higher Education Initiative (Union of Skills, Startup and Scaleup Strategy) and launched its 2025 call.

A keynote address from the President of EURASHE, Hannes Raffaseder, looked at how universities balance their education, research, and innovation missions, and discussed the opportunities and tensions in doing so.

A series of panel discussions focused on the importance of collaboration between higher education and industry:

• Building Europe’s innovation ready talent ecosystem with higher education institutions, emphasising interdisciplinary approaches (STEM + arts/humanities), innovation, and entrepreneurship upskilling
• The power of university industry collaboration, examining how partnerships beyond pure commercialisation can foster learning, upskilling, and mutual value
• Embedding the entrepreneurial mindset in higher education, looking at what it takes to build an innovation culture within universities (leadership, institutional change, support for founders)

Key takeaways

• Gender, diversity and inclusion in STEM: The event sharpened focus on enabling more girls and young women to enter tech and cybersecurity careers, not only via talent pipelines, but also changing mindset, highlighting role models, and broadening conceptions.
• Higher education evolution: Universities are being challenged (and supported) to adopt a triple mandate (education + research + innovation) more explicitly, change their internal cultures, and cooperate with industry.
• Skills for future economies: In cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, innovation, or cross disciplinary skills, the emphasis was on preparing learners for the digital and green transitions.
• Collaboration & ecosystems: Tackling skills gaps, building resilient talent pipelines, and strengthening innovation ecosystems requires cooperation between academia, industry, policymakers, and training providers.
• Call to action & next steps: The 2025 call under the EIT Higher Education Initiative was formally launched, and the agenda directed towards the next phase of EIT’s education strategy in support of the EU’s Union of Skills and STEM Education Strategic Plan.

This unique event showcased how Europe is mobilising to bridge skills shortages in strategic sectors (deep tech, digital, STEM, raw materials, etc) via education innovation linkages. It provided a platform for stakeholders (universities, training providers, companies, startups, policymakers) to network, share best practices, and align around European priorities, and marked a new momentum for the EIT Community’s education and skills agenda: moving from idea to impact, and aligning with broader EU strategies.