Connect & Experience
7-12 October, 2023
Innovation ecosystem development training for European ecosystem leaders. A transformative journey and the chance to join an exclusive community of like-minded peers.
Training Programme for European Innovation Ecosystem Leaders
Your journey starts here - join an exclusive pan-European and Israeli network of ecosystem leaders
What is Connect & Experience?
1. Intensive in-person professional training in Israel (7-12 October 2023)
3. Full access to the C&E innovation community network
Why Apply?
A leading ecosystem building programme with a high caliber of participants and expert facilitators.
Gain tools to become a leader in your field by. learning best practices of ecosystem management, including community building, tech tools, network leveraging and more.
Experience the start-up journey. and learn effective tools to support it, developed exclusively for the 2023 cohort.
Get immersed and build sustainable partnerships in one of the most innovative countries in the world.
Become a part of an exclusive community network of strategic players in ecosystem building, get ongoing support, access to events and matchmaking from the EIT Hub Israel.
Timeline
- 30th May 2023
Application Opens
- 30 July 2023 (23:59, CET)
Application Closes
- 10th August 2023
SELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT
- 21st September 2023 10:00 CET
ONBOARDING WEBINAR (FOR ACCEPTED PARTICIPANTS)
- 7th - 12th October 2023
VISIT TO ISRAEL
- March 2024
Follow up conference - the European "Playground"
- European experienced senior professionals at management level
- Belongs to an organization boosting European start-up growth
- Deals with innovation or business creation
- Able to contribute knowledge, experience and network to the programme
- A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience from all sectors
For example: TTO’s, heads of: accelerators, innovation agencies, labs, incubators or other business creation activities from academia, industry
The programme is not suited for individual start-ups or consultants.
Each application will be reviewed and ranked by the following criteria:
- Impact of your organization and programme on the European Innovation ecosystem (i.e.- number of start-ups you meet weekly)
- Professional role and seniority level
- Diversity. The cohort aims to represent the diversity of the ecosystem, the industry and the community.
- Motivation and added value to the programme
- An individual online interview might be scheduled as an additional evaluation criteria.
- The selection will be competitive and based upon excellence and the above noted criteria.
The final selection will be made by the Israel Cross KIC Steering Committee (with members representing the KICs: EIT Health, EIT Climate-KIC, and EIT Manufacturing).
finance
The full cost of the programme is 4.000 EUR, however EIT Hub Israel can offer partial funding of the programmes and/or Travel & Accommodation reimbursement based on the following categories:
Participant Category | Eligible KIC’s | Eligibility for Programme Funding | Eligibility for Travel and Accommodation Reimbursement |
|---|---|---|---|
KIC Partners | 6 KIC’s: EIT Health, EIT Climate- KIC, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Digital, EIT Food and EIT Culture & Creativity. | Fully funded | Reimbursement up to €1,500 per participant per module |
KIC Staff | 6 KIC’s: EIT Health, EIT Climate- KIC, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Digital, EIT Food and EIT Culture & Creativity. | Fully funded | Financed by the KIC’s own resources |
Partner/Staff from other KIC’s
| EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Raw Materials and EIT Urban Mobility | 75% Funded; Price: €1.000 | Financed by participant’s own resources |
Ecosystem Manager (Non EIT) | Any individual professional can apply. | 50% Funded; Price: €2.000 | Financed by participant’s own resources |
Draft Agenda for the Connect & Experience Bootcamp in Israel
*The below agenda is subject to change
Welcome to Israel
Begin your journey with a cultural immersion into the human and geographical landscape of Israel, gaining an understanding of what stands as the foundation of this unique ecosystem.
Welcome to the Israeli Ecosystem
The aim of the day is to expose the participants to the unique structure, key success factors and methods that created the Israeli hotbed of innovation. We will learn the deep connections and roots of the innovation landscape in the traditional economy and how incentivized innovation transformed the Israeli industries and society.
Presentations and intimate discussions by ecosystem key-players such as:
- Israel Innovation Authority will present their practical tools and funding platforms, and share insights on the dynamic and changing needs of the local and international innovation ecosystems.
- Israeli Academia experts will share their innovation programs and best practices as to tech transfer from lab to market.
- Case studies by top Israeli start-ups – successes in commercialization.
- Funding Platforms– unique VC funding model developed in Israel that attracts substantial international capital and attention.
- Case studies by top Israeli start-ups – successes in commercialization.
The Ecosystem Summit
One of the visit highlights will be an interactive conference for the local and global ecosystem.
The conference will follow the lifecycle of a start-up from ideation to commercialization, focusing on the role of the ecosystem leader at each stage. Together with over 250 highly experienced and influential Israeli players, journey through a start-up’s journey, facing challenges such as IP, scaling, funding, mindset and more.
The conference and networking opportunity draws in a community of entrepreneurs, accelerator managers, tech transfer offices and leading industry players.
Leading Innovation Ecosystem
After becoming exposed to the Israeli ecosystem, it’s time to bring it home. During a tailored workshop, participants will present and discuss their own ecosystem challenges and initiatives.
The participants will be exposed to a comprehensive ecosystem-management model and will implement it on their own use case, including mapping, leveraging strengths, combating challenges and more. The workshop will be facilitated by local Israeli experts who will share their own challenges and present frameworks and best practices to combat those challenges and boost start-up growth.
Ecosystem Development
Venture away from Israel’s well known center to Haifa, Israel’s third largest city. Known for drawing tech giants (including Amazon, Microsoft and Google) to set-up R&D centers utilizing Haifa’s unique university and IDF talent, it faces community growth and capital retention challenges. We will focus on Haifa as a great learning ground for ecosystem development and learn from the people that have managed to create a supportive and nurturing environment against all odds. We will meet key figures from organisations such as Road2 and Technion University who will share how to build a sustainable, organic ecosystem by balancing MNCs, start-ups and talents.
Following the visit, we will continue to the “C&E Capsule” – focused on reflecting and planning on your next steps. The Capsule combines professional and mental growth tools to help you and your ecosystem thrive and a community to form.
Moving Forward
After you were exposed to the Israeli Ecosystem, it’s time to reflect and think of what’s next.
We will also discuss how we can tailor the lessons and opportunities learned in Israel to your unique ecosystem characteristics. We will expose the C&E community and share future plans and events.
Programme outcomes
Organic EU-IL follow up activities, initiated by the participants themselves
Mindset shift and openness to new ideas
Joint hackathons, demo days and webinars
98% overall satisfaction rate
Active community engagement & network expansion
Testimonials
Neil Walmsley
- Head of International Adaptation Programmes & International Markets, Climate-KIC
Dóra Marosvölgyi
- CEO of DARE Innovations
Adi Barel
- Director of EIT Global Outreach
Anca del Rio
- Expert Venture Adviser | Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship, EIT Health
Bram Pauwels
- Chief Strategy Officer, EBN - European Business & Innovation Centre Network
Meet the Connect & Experience Team
Adi Barel
MAAYAN SHARON
Tal Caspi
FAQ
Yes, participation physically in Israel is required, and it is the core Connect & Experience event that provides you with professional training, and builds the community. You will have the chance to travel round the country, meet Israeli peers and learn from one if the world’s leading innovation ecosystems.
The cohort will be comprised of ecosystem leaders from all over Europe that were carefully selected to join the programme. You will meet peers and ecosystem leaders from Israel, top speakers and lecturers on a number of different topics, executives from global companies active in Israel, and many more.
An ecosystem leader is an experienced senior professional, at management/decision-making level, in an organisation boosting European start-up growth, significantly impacting the European ecosystem. They should deal with innovation or business creation in any of the following sectors: industry, academia, government. For example, VCs, TTOs, heads of: accelerators, innovation agencies, labs, incubators, or other business creation activities from academia, industry and government.
The programme encompasses a wide variety of subjects, including an overview of the Israeli ecosystem and meetings with leading figures from the industry. You will have the chance to get your hands ‘dirty’ and delve into an ecosystem building workshop, learn the dos and don’ts of branding, visit academia and governmental offices, meet with VCs, and become inspired by the many opportunities that will expose themselves.
This depends on a financial category that varies from participant to participant. Check out the finance section for more information.
You can apply here by 30th July. The applicants will be ranked according to the criteria noted here and the final decision as to the participants will be made by the Global Outreach steering committee. Applicants will receive responses by 10th August.
Past participants have established long standing collaborations with both experts they met in Israel and members of the cohort. You can expect to be left with a change of mindset that will enable you to approach your day to day activities with a new found sense of purpose, as well as a tangible toolkit to establish the best practices you were exposed to. The Connect & Experience community is extremely active with joint ventures taking place on a weekly basis, you can expect to expand your network and be part of a supportive and professional group of people.
The Israeli ecosystem renowned as the ‘Start-up Nation’, has the highest number of start-ups per capita in the world. The country is known for its unique sense of national community, sharing knowledge and information and working together to support start-ups. The country’s entrepreneurs are considered great mentors, many of them are over 30 years old and have founded at least one company. Considered broadminded and fearless, they are known as high risk takers and use failures as motivation.
Do you have any questions? Get in touch with us at
[email protected]
