Name of the Project: BRIDGE - Bridge to Innovate - Connecting STEM talent to entrepreneurial pathways

Project Number: HEI50251

Project Coordinator: Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Swiss)

Type of Project: EIT Higher Education Initiative

Project Lifetime: 01/09/2026 to 31/08/2028 

Partners

1 Decembrie 1918" University of Alba Iulia (Romania)

Universidad CEU San Pablo (Spain)

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany)

University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (The Netherlands)

The Open University (United Kingdom)

Instituto Politécnico do Porto (Portugal)

Technical University of Gabrovo (Bulgaria)

Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany)

University of Siena (Italy)

Warsaw School of Computer Science (Poland)

bydo (Swiss)

Rudolfovo – Science and Technology Centre Novo mesto (Slovenia)

Swiss Startup Association (Swiss)

Tech StartUp School (Ukraine)

Technoport (Luxembourg)

Wonder (United Kingdom)

ISPIM (United Kingdom) 

Aims and Objectives

BRIDGE’s long - term vision is to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy by embedding innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual‑property (IP and technology transfer) capabilities systematically within STEM education and institutional practice. The project responds to a structural gap observed across many higher education institutions: innovation and entrepreneurship training is often offered as isolated workshops or elective initiatives, while research - to - market support and ecosystem engagement are fragmented across units and unevenly accessible to STEM learners. BRIDGE addresses this fragmentation by institutionalising a common, auditable pipeline that connects learning, selection, support and external engagement into a repeatable operating model.  In line with the Union of Skills and the STEM Education Strategic Plan, BRIDGE prioritises the twin green and digital transitions by focusing on innovation capabilities that are directly applicable to strategic technology and application areas (e.g., advanced manufacturing, AI - enabled systems, renewable energy and circularity solutions, bio/health technologies, and critical infrastructure). By increasing the supply of tech - capable founders and intrapreneurs and by strengthening research‑to‑market pathways, BRIDGE also supports the EU Start - up and Scale - up agenda (“Choose Europe”) through improved market - and investment - readiness, reduced fragmentation between education and incubation, and stronger cross - border collaboration conditions.