Strategic Workshop at Horizon4Poland’26 - Polish Voice in the EIT 2028–2034 Reform

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is entering a new phase of development. Upcoming changes to the EIT Regulation and the new Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) for 2028–2034 will define the future role of the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) within the European innovation landscape.

The “Polish Voice in the EIT 2028–2034 Reform” workshop will bring together Polish organisations cooperating with various EIT communities to discuss what the EIT should look like after 2027 from the perspective of Poland’s innovation ecosystem. The discussion will be informed by an analysis of the European Commission’s consultation results, publicly available positions of European stakeholders, and the experiences of Polish organisations actively engaged in EIT initiatives.

What do we want to discuss?

Our primary focus is a practical assessment of the current EIT model: which mechanisms deliver real value, where barriers exist, and what changes could strengthen the impact of KICs on innovation, entrepreneurship, and science-business collaboration.

The discussion will cover, in particular:

• the role of the EIT in the commercialisation and scaling of innovation,

• access of Polish organisations to European ecosystems and KIC networks,

• support for talent development, entrepreneurship and skills,

• links between the EIT, Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council (EIC), and other EU instruments,

• the funding model, openness of KICs, and opportunities for engaging new partners,

• the contribution of the EIT to European competitiveness and the development of strategic technologies.

What do we want to achieve?

The objective of the workshop is to create a platform for dialogue between the EIT community and the Polish National Contact Point (NCP), while identifying common priorities of the Polish innovation community regarding the future EIT framework for 2028–2034.

The outcome will be a concise set of recommendations outlining: what should be preserved, what requires improvement, where Poland should take a more active role, and which solutions should be promoted at the European level. Together, we aim to identify a small number of key recommendations reflecting not the perspective of a single KIC or organisation, but the collective experience of different parts of Poland’s innovation ecosystem.

The workshop will result in a discussion paper entitled “Polish EIT Priorities 2028–2034”, which can support future debates on the evolution of the EIT and inform the activities of Polish institutions and stakeholders at both national and European levels.

Who should attend?

We invite representatives of Polish organisations cooperating with the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities, including:

• companies and industry representatives,

• universities and higher education institutions,

• research institutes,

• startups and scale-ups,

• organisations supporting innovation ecosystems.

Our goal is to bring together experiences from different KICs and sectors in order to develop a unified and practical Polish contribution to the discussion on the future of the EIT for 2028–2034.