COST–EIT Partnership Empowers Emerging Region Innovators at EIT Jumpstarter
EITEIT Jumpstarter continues to transform research excellence into entrepreneurial success, with participants from COST Actions among the standout innovators of the 2025 edition.
Strengthening the COST–EIT Partnership
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), a funding organisation supporting collaborative research networks known as COST Actions, provides an open platform for scientists across Europe and beyond to advance research and spark innovation. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2022 and renewed in May 2025, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and COST have strengthened cooperation to better connect research communities with Europe’s innovation ecosystem. The renewed MoU for 2025–2027 focuses on linking beneficiaries to key stages of the innovation value chain.
COST as a Key Talent Source
The seven-month EIT Jumpstarter programme brings tailored support to selected startups from emerging innovation ecosystems, providing mentoring to refine their business models and develop detailed business plans. Participants are evaluated on this basis, with the six best projects advancing to the Grand Final.
EIT Jumpstarter forms part of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS), the EIT’s main instrument for reducing regional innovation disparities across Europe.
In 2025, the Grand Final took place in Budapest, Hungary. Each category winner received €10 000. In addition, separate prizes of €5 000 were awarded.
COST represents a strong talent pool for the programme. The 2025 COST–EIT Jumpstarter webinar, held in February 2025, attracted high participation and provided networking opportunities, insights into the EIT ecosystem and practical guidance for applicants. Of the 29 COST-related applications submitted to EIT Jumpstarter in 2025, 13 advanced to the Bootcamp phase – a 44 % success rate – and three reached the Grand Final.
The 2026 edition of the COST–EIT pre-Jumpstarter webinar will be announced in due course. Further details will be available in the COST website events section.
Dr Hugo Caires, a COST participant from Portugal and CEO of MyLeukemia, won first prize as well as the special prize for outermost regions. Dr Michal Kowalczyk, a COST participant from Poland and co-founder of AerogelNova Tech, and Dr Ana Firanj Sremac, a COST participant from Serbia and co-founder and CTO of Climate-Smart Solutions, were finalists.
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As a COST Action participant, I saw how powerful Europe’s research networks are for validating ideas and building great science together. EIT Jumpstarter then translated that momentum into execution/market focus, partnerships, and a founder mindset. For us, it was the missing link that helped MYLeukaemia project evolve into MYCancer startup, with a clear mission: bring functional precision oncology in blood cancers closer to patients, starting from an EU outermost region and scaling across Europe.
Hugo R. Caires, EIT Jumpstarter participant.
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By bridging the fundamental science supported by COST with the commercial focus of EIT Jumpstarter, I am now working to transform the insulation industry with bio-based aerogels that replace synthetic alternatives and drive the circular bioeconomy.
Dr Michal Kowalczyk, EIT Jumpstarter participant
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My participation in COST Actions was crucial not only for scientific networking, but also for discovering innovation pathways beyond academia. Thanks to a COST-organised webinar, I learned about the EIT Jumpstarter programme, which directly led us to apply, become finalists in 2025, and ultimately establish our startup, Climate Smart Solutions.
Dr Ana Firanj Sremac, EIT Jumpstarter participant
From Research to Impact
The strong performance of COST participants in 2025 demonstrates the value of the EIT–COST partnership in connecting research excellence with structured innovation support. Through EIT Jumpstarter, ideas emerging from COST Actions are increasingly developing into scalable ventures in the emerging innovation ecosystems across Europe, contributing to European competitiveness and sustainable growth.
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