The key players in the innovative ecosystem of the Canary Islands. have taken a decisive step towards their full integration into the European knowledge and technology network. European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the largest innovation ecosystem in Europe, has held its conference EIT Days Canarias: Driving innovation in the Canary Islands in Las Palmas and, more recently, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
These meetings have brought together companies, entrepreneurs, technology centers, universities and clusters of the archipelago with the purpose of harness the potential that the EIT offers to foster innovation and regional cooperation. The EIT, which operates in nine areas of knowledge (including, climate change, energy, health, digitalization and food), has presented specific programs designed for outermost territories.
Success stories and new opportunities
Collaboration between Canary Islands and the EIT It is already translated into concrete examples of European projects. These include initiatives such as INCORE (with La Palma Research Centre and the European University of the Canary Islands), IDEATION (with the University of La Laguna) and BIOTECH VENTURE (with the University of Las Palmas), as well as the participation of startups , the Rethink Medical o Mediterranean Agro Technology (MagTech)The conference aims to further boost this momentum, given the warm welcome received by Canary Island agents.
EIT Director, Martin Kern, opened the event held at the Caja Canarias Foundation in Santa Cruz, where he highlighted the organization's commitment to the region. "EIT is committed to unlocking the full potential of innovative people in the Canary Islands. The archipelago has..." unique strengths that fit together perfectly with the areas of our Knowledge and Innovation Communities», Kern said. He added: "We have already seen inspiring success stories in the Canary Islands and we want to go further: expanding activities, fostering stronger local ecosystems, and ensuring lasting impact”.
From 2021 to 2024, the EIT has channeled 285 million euros in Spain, supporting 913 companies and launching 185 innovations.
The role of the EIT Community Hub Spain
At the event, which was attended by nearly 80 representatives of innovation at European, national and Canary Islands level, the EIT Community Hub Spain. Created in 2025, this hub Its mission is to connect local innovative agents from all over Spain with the European ecosystem represented by the EIT and its KICs (Knowledge and Innovation Communities).
Laura Ovies, responsible for EIT Community Hub Spain, insisted on the usefulness of the new hub: "EIT's Knowledge and Innovation Communities have been working with the Canary Islands for years, but through our recently created hub, which works as an umbrella for all of them, we want to give a strong boost to our collaboration in the region«.
The organization of the two days has been possible thanks to the collaboration of the EIT Community Hub Spain with the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society (ACIISI). Your manager, Javier Franco, emphasized the strategic importance of this alliance: "The Canary Islands has a enormous potential to lead innovation in outermost territories, and the alliance with EIT is essential to enhance our capabilities. Access to European programs It not only involves funding, but also knowledge, international networks and the possibility of turning our ideas into global impact projects«.
The event also included a panel discussion on EU funding with representatives from several KICs (EIT Culture & Creativity, EIT Digital, EIT Food, EIT Health and EIT Raw Materials), who assured that "European funding is closer than you think"In addition, they presented themselves." success stories of innovations developed in the Canary Islands in key sectors such as Gaming (with ACADEVI, Don´t Know Studio and Bakata Solutions), the digitalization (Arquimea Research Center, ITC, Intellia), the agrifood (Cluster Agrotech Canarias, ICIA) and the health (Kanara Labs, Rethink Medical, CISCAN).
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