At the EuroTech Summit 2026, European researchers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, and policymakers discussed strategies to transform Europe's scientific potential into a driver for economic and societal development. Five main action areas emerged to enhance the continent's technological competitiveness.
The first lever advocates for investing in breakthrough research, which is exploratory and long-term, to prepare for future innovations. This involves supporting high-risk scientific projects, interdisciplinary approaches, and cutting-edge research infrastructures to anticipate discoveries that will shape tomorrow's industries.
The second focus highlights the role of cutting-edge technologies as a driver of economic and societal transformation, particularly in areas such as energy transition, health, security, digital, and space. Scientific and technological universities are emphasized for their contribution to training engineers and scientists, as well as developing innovative solutions.
The third lever stresses the need to break down silos within European research and innovation ecosystems. Enhanced cooperation between universities, companies, and public institutions is deemed essential to transform Europe's scientific wealth into a competitive advantage, by fostering cross-border collaborations and pooling expertise.
The fourth point concerns supporting the scaling-up of European deeptech companies. Europe must improve its ability to transform discoveries into technologically competitive companies on international markets by facilitating access to funding, technology experimentation, and early market access.
Finally, the fifth lever calls for giving science a greater role in European decision-making. Strengthened dialogue between researchers and public policymakers is necessary to anticipate technological disruptions and inform strategic orientations in research and innovation.
The EuroTech Alliance, celebrating its 15th anniversary, announced its expansion with the accession of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) and Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), effective January 1, 2027. This expansion aims to enhance scientific synergies and consolidate the Alliance's European presence, in line with its 2030 Strategy.
The EuroTech Rising Stars Awards 2026 ceremony also honored young scientific and entrepreneurial talents. Yosta de Stigter (Eindhoven University of Technology) received the Research award for her work on light-emitting proteins, while Lukas Burgholzer (Technical University of Munich) was recognized in the Innovation category for his software solutions in quantum computing.
