New opportunities for universities

So far, 9 Bulgarian higher education institutions have received funding under the EIT HEI initiative to enhance their entrepreneurial and innovation capacity. By February 28, 2023, European universities can submit their project proposals under the pilot initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which aims to improve the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of higher education institutions in Europe. 16 consortia of universities, research centers, public authorities, associations, and the private sector will be selected and supported. For this purpose, funding of 12 million euros has been allocated. The focus of this year's, third call, is on the training of technical talents in higher education, aligned with the new flagship program of EIT "Talents in Deep Tech", which will provide the opportunity to train 1 million talents by 2025. In 2022, three Bulgarian universities received funding under the EIT HEI initiative, which places higher education institutions at the center of the innovation sphere in Europe. These are Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the University of Forestry in Sofia, and the Trakia University in Stara Zagora. Under EIT HEI, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology works jointly with universities to provide appropriate tools to support innovation on and off campus. Following the second call, 300 new higher education institutions and their partners from 38 countries receive a total of 31.2 million euros in funding to strengthen their innovation capacity with the support of EIT. Among them are our three universities, with each approved consortium of higher education institutions, research centers, public authorities, and associations receiving funding up to 1.2 million euros. The organizations supported last year joined the already established network of over 270 organizations, including 6 Bulgarian universities and 2 private companies within the first call in 2021. Under it, 24 projects were approved with the participation of 142 higher education institutions and 155 non-academic organizations, which are funded in total with 28.8 million euros. Among them are 6 Bulgarian universities and two private companies. These are TU - Sofia, TU - Varna, the University of Economics - Varna, Plovdiv University "St. Paisius Hilendarski", the University of Food Technologies - Plovdiv, the Medical University - Plovdiv, as well as the company The Edge and the non-governmental organization GIS Transfer Center. The activities of these 24 projects focus on topics such as promoting institutional changes; strengthening partnerships between higher education institutions, enterprises, and research organizations; developing services to support innovation and business, and improving the quality of entrepreneurship education. The EIT HEI initiative has an internet portal for higher education institutions in Europe, where information about the activities of the announced projects can be found, more can be learned about upcoming calls for project proposals, and the latest news about the initiative can be learned.8 The role of universities in building a European innovation ecosystem is crucial, and through their support, they can become drivers of innovation at the regional and local levels. Universities are of strategic importance for the recovery of Europe. To achieve this goal, education, science, and innovation must be inextricably linked.

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