SFF DEEP CONNECT selected under the EIT Higher Education Initiative 2025/2026
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) is pleased to announce its participation in SFF DEEP CONNECT, a collaborative European initiative selected under the EIT Higher Education Initiative (HEI) 2025/2026 Call, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
The project brings together 10 organisations from 10 European countries with a shared ambition: to strengthen Europe's capacity to transform scientific excellence into innovation, entrepreneurship and globally competitive deep-tech ventures. Building on the successful foundations of the Start for Future ecosystem, SFF DEEP CONNECT will create stronger connections between higher education institutions, research organisations, industry and innovation ecosystems, helping universities become even more effective drivers of economic and societal impact.
Starting from September 2026 and over the next 24 months, the consortium will develop an integrated European approach to innovation by embedding entrepreneurship, innovation and intellectual property management more deeply within higher education institutions. Through collaborative programmes, shared infrastructures and cross-border cooperation, the project will strengthen pathways from research to market while supporting students, researchers, academic staff and entrepreneurs in developing the skills and networks needed to bring deep-tech innovations to society.
Key activities
- delivering large-scale innovation and entrepreneurship programmes for students, researchers and university staff;
- establishing Asset-Matching Living Labs to connect research assets, entrepreneurial talent and industry challenges;
- deploying the SFF Open Incubator 2.0 to support the creation and growth of deep-tech ventures;
- developing the SFF EIT HEI Founder Passport to facilitate cross-border collaboration and founder mobility across European innovation ecosystems;
- strengthening long-term institutional capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship across participating higher education institutions.
SFF DEEP CONNECT aims to train more than 4,500 participants, support 30+ startups, facilitate the creation of 10 new ventures, establish new innovation structures within participating universities and expand Europe's interconnected innovation ecosystem through new strategic partnerships.
DkIT’s participation will be led by Professor Colette Henry, Head of Department of Business Studies, who commented:
“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting new project. We will be working closely with our on-campus incubation centre (Regional Development Centre) and the Departments of Visual & Human Centred Computing and Computing Science & Mathematics. As part of an exciting EU consortium, we will contribute expertise to the implementation of this ambitious initiative while collaborating with partners across Europe to strengthen innovation capacity, accelerate research commercialisation and foster the next generation of deep-tech entrepreneurs.”
SFF DEEP CONNECT Consortium
Dundalk Institute of Technology
Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi
SFF DEEP CONNECT is implemented with the support of the EIT Culture & Creativity.
