The European Innovation Council (EIC)-Breakthrough Greece event is an awareness-raising and stakeholder engagement event designed to help researchers, innovators, start-ups, SMEs, and innovation support organisations better understand the potential of the EIC and strengthen their capacity to participate in its funding programmes. Such participation becomes particularly important, as the EIC budget in the upcoming Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10) is expected to be nearly tripled compared to its current level.
The event will take place on two separate dates in Thessaloniki and Athens, to make participation more accessible to stakeholders across Greece.
Participants will hear from a diverse panel of speakers, including successful EIC beneficiaries, EIC representatives and programme Officers, industry leaders, researchers, innovation experts, and technology transfer professionals. Through innovation success stories, keynote presentations , and stakeholder discussions, attendees will gain valuable insights into EIC potential in technology commercialization.
Choose the date and venue that best suit you:
• 14/12/26 Thessaloniki, hosted by CERTH
• 16/12/26 Athens, hosted by NCSR Demokritos
While each event will take place independently, both will feature a common programme designed to raise awareness of the EIC and strengthen the capacity of the Greek innovation ecosystem to successfully engage with its funding schemes.
Whether you are exploring the EIC for the first time or preparing a future application, this event will provide the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to take the next step.
What You Will Gain
During the event, participants will have the opportunity to:
• Understand what grantees gained from their participation in European Innovation Council projects.
• Assess the innovation potential and EIC readiness of their ideas or technologies.
• Connect with EIC grantees, EIC experts and potential partners in the innovation process as well as entrepreneurs and innovation support organisations.
• Succeed by gaining practical knowledge that can increase competitiveness and improve access to European funding.
About the European Innovation Council (EIC)
The European Innovation Council (EIC) is the European Union’s flagship programme for identifying, developing, and scaling breakthrough innovations. It supports visionary researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, and scale-ups working on disruptive technologies with the potential to create new markets and address major societal challenges.
Unlike many traditional funding programmes, the EIC focuses on innovations that are:
• technologically ambitious
• high-risk but with the potential for significant societal and economic impact;
• capable of creating or transforming markets;
• difficult to finance through conventional public or private investment.
The EIC supports innovators throughout the entire innovation journey through four complementary funding schemes:
• EIC Pathfinder – for early-stage research and emerging breakthrough technologies.
• EIC Transition – for validating research results, developing business cases, and preparing technologies for commercialisation.
• EIC Accelerator – for start-ups and SMEs developing and scaling breakthrough innovations through grants, equity investment, or blended finance.
• EIC STEP Scale Up – for mature companies seeking substantial investment to expand strategic technologies in Europe.
Why This Event Matters
Greece has a strong track record in European collaborative research and a vibrant community of researchers, innovators, start-ups, and SMEs with significant potential to benefit from the opportunities offered by the European Innovation Council (EIC). As the EIC places a strong emphasis on breakthrough innovation, commercialisation, and scale-up, increasing awareness of its funding schemes and application requirements can help unlock new pathways for bringing excellent research and innovative technologies to the market.
By providing practical guidance, showcasing successful examples, and fostering dialogue between researchers, innovators, businesses, and innovation support organisations, the Breakthrough Greece event aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to develop competitive EIC proposals and accelerate the translation of innovative ideas into internationally scalable solutions.
More information and the registration form will be available soon.
Co-organised by:
