Two-Day Working Meeting of the European Project PIONEER+ 16–17 October 2025, Corfu

The first in-person two-day working meeting of the partners of the project PIONEER+ (Pioneering Innovation and Entrepreneurship capacity building activities through Digital Transformation), funded by the HEI Initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) under the 4^th Cohort, was successfully held on 16–17 October 2025 in Corfu, at the premises of the Ionian University. The Ionian University serves as the lead partner of the project, coordinated by Professor Adamantia Pateli, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of the Ionian University.

The meeting brought together representatives from all project partners:
Ionian University (Greece – Coordinator), Digital Green Jobs Srl (Italy), Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland), Lazarski University (Poland), A.B. Institute of Entrepreneurship Development Ltd (Cyprus), RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau (Germany), Université de Haute-Alsace (France), and Universität Trier (Germany).

The first day of the meeting (16 October 2025) focused on presenting the progress of the individual Work Packages (WP1–WP7), planning actions to achieve the project’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and discussing activities related to dissemination, training, and strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship within the participating universities and organizations.

Particular significance was given to the second day (17 October 2025), during which the Leadership Engagement Workshop took place at the Ionian Academy, with the participation of top management representatives from the partner universities. During the workshop, participants presented the results of their HEInnovate internal assessments and discussed their institutions’ strategic innovation plans, using the HEInnovate Card Set as a tool for designing joint actions. Through a creative and collaborative process, the common strategic priorities of the PIONEER+ project for the next implementation phase were defined, aiming to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation within the ecosystems of the participating universities.

The meeting concluded with the development of a Joint Action Plan for collaborative initiatives that will strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship capacity of the six (6) higher education institutions, supported by the two (2) partner organizations, within the framework of the EIT HEI Initiative.

More information about the project PIONEER+: https://pioneerplus.eu/