Finding the right partners is often the hardest part of putting together an Erasmus+ proposal, and for Alliances for Innovation, where education, industry and research comes together, the people behind a proposal count as much as the proposal itself. With that in mind, on 29 and 30 September 2026, Partner-Hub.eu hosted Building Alliances for Innovation, a two-day online matchmaking event for anyone looking to build partnerships around Alliances for Innovation.
Some attendees already had a proposal idea and were looking for collaborators. Others wanted to join an existing consortium, and some had expertise to offer and were looking for the right project for it. Taken together, the group included universities, research centres, VET providers, consultancies, SMEs, start-ups, innovation hubs and non-profits, working in areas from AI and entrepreneurship to social inclusion, tourism and the blue economy, with profiles from across Europe and beyond.
Day One: Webinar and Proposal Pitches
We opened on 29 September with a webinar for 54 attendees, walking through the Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation call and its three Lots: Alliances for Education and Enterprises, Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills, and STEM Skills Foundries. The session was presented by Angele Giuliano, founder and managing director of AcrossLimits. During her presentation, she also drew on AcrossLimits’ own Lot 1 projects, APERTURE Innovation and GREENPORT Alliances, as examples of the call in practice.
Next came the proposal pitches. Ten attendees pitched their proposal ideas and areas of expertise, most with Lot 1 in mind and a few looking at Lots 2 and 3. Some were developing ideas and looking for partners, with proposals touching on STEM commercialisation, educator wellbeing and AI-enabled green entrepreneurship. Others came to join an existing consortium, offering expertise in areas like AI security, social entrepreneurship, digital skills and university-industry collaboration. The pitches came from universities, SMEs, non-profits and innovation organisations in countries including Lithuania, Spain, Türkiye, Greece, Belgium, Estonia and the UK.
Two Days of 1-to-1 Conversations
With the pitches done, attendees spent the rest of the event talking to each other directly. Across the two days, 49 one-to-one meetings of 15 minutes each were arranged, and held directly through Partner-Hub.eu.
Whether people came with a proposal of their own or were hoping to join someone else’s, they had plenty of room to make new connections.
What Happens Next
The event page and participant profiles are still available on Partner-Hub.eu, so attendees are encouraged to keep browsing profiles and get in touch with the people they met, as well as those they didn’t get the chance to.
For anyone planning a proposal, the next Alliances for Innovation deadline is expected in early 2027. The webinar was based on the 2026 Programme Guide, and the 2027 edition is due in the coming months, so it’s worth checking it for changes before applying.
Our next event will be an expert webinar on the R&I funding landscape in the age of AI, planned for December. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter, for dates and registration details.
Thank you to everyone who joined the webinar, pitched their ideas and took part in the matchmaking. We hope some of the connections made over these two days grow into proposals and partnerships in the months ahead.
We’ll see you at the next one!