COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) continues to play an instrumental role in fostering synergies between European research and innovation initiatives. COST is a funding organisation for the creation of research networks, called COST Actions. These networks offer an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond) and thereby give impetus to research advancements and innovation. In February 2022, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and COST signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost cooperation between scientists, businesses and innovators.

One notable example of this cooperation is the annual EIT Jumpstarter webinar, promoting an award-winning pre-acceleration programme designed for scientists, researchers, and innovators aiming to validate ideas and acquire the business skills needed to launch their own start-ups.

For innovative ideas to become solutions, such as new products or technologies, they must undergo a process of conversion, meaning that an initial concept has to be developed, refined, tested, and transformed into something practical and usable. This process often involves research, prototyping, evaluation, and continuous improvement before the idea can be implemented in the real world.

The EIT Jumpstarter is one of Europe’s leading schemes that supports this transformation, including ideas emerging from COST Actions.

COST as a key source of talent pool for EIT Jumpstarter

The EIT Jumpstarter programme spans seven months, during which selected start-ups receive mentorship to develop business models and detailed business plans. Based on these plans, participants are evaluated, and the six best projects advance to the Grand Final. In 2025, the Grand Final was hosted in Budapest, Hungary, with each category offering a prize of €10,000 and special prizes of €5,000. COST provides a rich pool of talent for EIT Jumpstarter. The 2025 COST -EIT Jumpstarter webinar edition led to particularly successful COST participation in the EIT Jumpstarter scheme. The webinar organised on 13 February 2025, offered networking opportunities, insights into the EIT ecosystem, and practical guidance on applying for the Jumpstarter programme.

Out of the 29 COST applications in the EIT Jumpstarter programme, 13 advanced to the Bootcamp (the first phase of funding) making it to a 44% success rate in applications, and 3 reached the Grand Final.

Dr Hugo R. Caires, COST Action participant from Portugal and founder&CEO of MYCancer, won the first prize as well as the special prize for outermost regions.

“The renewed EIT-COST cooperation is critical for EU competitiveness in deep-tech arena, because it connects two worlds that too often stay apart: excellent research and real-world adoption & impact. COST accelerates collaboration and fuels scientific evidence while EIT Jumpstarter accelerates decision-making, validation, and company building for societal impact. We are an example of that key combination, that helped us transform MYLeukaemia project into MYCancer company which focus our technology on a single goal: bring scientifically advanced functional precision oncology approaches in blood cancers closer to patients. When this EIT-COST pipeline reaches innovators in widening regions and EU Outermost Regions, it doesn’t just create innovative deeptech startups: it creates capacity, talent retention, and healthcare impact where it’s needed most.” Dr Hugo R. Caires

Dr Michal Kowalczyk, COST participant from Poland and co-founder of AerogelNova Tech, and Dr Ana Firanj Sremac, COST participant from Serbia and co-founder and CTO of Climate-Smart Solutions, were both finalists.

Dr Michal Kowalczyk shared how COST supported his journey from fundamental research to entrepreneurship:

“My involvement in COST Actions was a catalyst for my research into the nanostructure of lignocellulosic materials. This work culminated in our 2023 publication in Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio), where we used electron tomography to unravel the complex architecture of fiber cell walls. Understanding these structures at such high resolution provided the essential blueprint for developing novel, sustainable methods for aerogel production. By bridging the fundamental science supported by COST with the commercial focus of EIT Jumpstarter, I am now working to transform the insulation industry with bio-based aerogels that replace synthetic alternatives and drive the circular bioeconomy.“

Dr Ana Firanj Sremac highlighted the role of COST in creating pathways to innovation:

“My participation in COST Actions was crucial not only for scientific networking, but for discovering innovation pathways beyond academia. Through COST’s multidisciplinary environment, new ideas naturally emerged at the intersection of meteorology, agriculture, and digital technologies. Thanks to a COST-organised webinar, I learned about the EIT Jumpstarter programme, which directly led us to apply, become finalists in 2025, and ultimately establish our startup, Climate Smart Solutions. COST truly acts as a bridge between research communities and European innovation ecosystems, providing a pre-portal where collaboration turns into real entrepreneurial impact.”

COST’s collaboration with EIT Jumpstarter demonstrates the organisation’s ongoing commitment to nurturing research talent and supporting the translation of scientific discoveries into real-world innovations across Europe. The 2026 edition of the COST–EIT pre-Jumpstarter webinar will take place at a later date. For more information, please follow the COST website events section.

Additional information

What are COST Actions?
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
EIT Jumpstarter
We know the winners of EIT Jumpstarter 2025: Budapest celebrates Europe’s brightest innovators (EIT Jumpstarter news article, November 2025)
COST-EIT pre-Jumpstarter webinar 2025 (online, February 2025)
Connecting the innovation chain by reinforcing synergies: COST and EIT sign MoU (COST News article, April 2022)