The EIT releases its new strategy for the EU Outermost Regions
EITThe EIT will dedicate greater effort to maximising the innovation potential of the EU Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain).
The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) has since its establishment in 2014 been expanding the reach of EIT Community activities to more countries and regions across the European continent. Its goal has been no less than to close the innovation gap between European countries, boosting the performance of areas scored as 'modest' or 'emerging' innovation ecosystems.
Preparing the Outermost Regions to unlock their full potential
With the EU Outermost Regions eligible for the RIS in the 2021-2027 programming period, the EIT will enhance its focus on those Regions and help boost the capacity of local innovation ecosystems. The EIT Community will specifically:
- support and boost core EIT innovation activities, such as innovation projects, skills programmes, and business support programmes
- offer preferential conditions for Outermost Regions higher learning institutes
- support access to scientific outcomes and strengthen technology transfer capacity in Outermost Region research institutions and universities to stimulate more marketable products and services
- produce a tailored fundraising programme so Outermost Region start-ups can access finance
- produce initiatives that overcome barriers to student recruitment and joint programming in the Outermost Regions while simultaneously increasing the appeal of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education (with a special focus on gender balance)
- upskill and reskill workers with primary and secondary school education levels
- develop ways to attract more women to tech and business, areas in which they are underrepresented
The top EIT business pre-accelerator - EIT Jumpstarter- will aim to significantly increase the teams from the EU Outermost Regions trained and supported to kick-start their entrepreneurial journey. The EIT will also aim to support an increasing number of EU Outermost Regions higher education institutes supported via its Higher Education Institution (HEI) Initiative, providing them with funding, expertise, and coaching to transform local economic activities.
The EIT will closely monitor the Outermost Regions participation in the years ahead, making sure the EIT Community is doing all it can to increase its engagement with local innovators and entrepreneurs.
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