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Europe is one of the world's leading regions in science and research. European researchers produce nearly 20% of all scientific publications worldwide each year and contribute more than 20% of the world's most highly cited research papers. In addition, European innovators file over 43% of all global patent applications.
However, outstanding scientific achievements do not always translate into innovative products, technologies, or successful businesses. According to experts, only about one-third of patents registered in the European Union are commercially exploited. This highlights a significant gap between scientific research and its successful transfer into the real economy.
Bridging this gap is the primary objective of the new European project Knowledge2Impact, which seeks to strengthen the knowledge and technology transfer ecosystem across the European Research Area (ERA).
Knowledge2Impact aims to transform Technology and Knowledge Transfer Offices (TTOs/KTOs) into a professional European network capable of helping universities and research organisations efficiently convert research results into innovative products, start-ups, and industry partnerships.
To achieve this, the project will focus on:
enhancing the professional skills of technology transfer specialists;
developing modern educational programmes for students and early-career researchers;
upgrading the services provided by TTOs/KTOs;
creating open-access tools and practical methodologies;
fostering entrepreneurial skills within universities and research organisations;
strengthening collaboration between academia, research institutions, industry, and investors.
As a result, scientific discoveries will move more efficiently from laboratories to the marketplace, while universities and research organisations will become stronger drivers of economic development and innovation.
Strengthening Europe's innovation capacity has become increasingly important in today's geopolitical landscape. The European Union is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported critical technologies and reinforce its strategic technological autonomy.
The 2024 Draghi Report on European competitiveness warns that without effective commercialisation of research results, Europe risks falling into a "middle technology trap." For this reason, strengthening technology transfer offices has become a strategic priority for ensuring Europe's economic resilience and global competitiveness.
Knowledge2Impact is fully aligned with the European Union's strategic priorities and contributes to the implementation of several key EU policy initiatives.
The project supports the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda by advancing knowledge valorisation, promoting the EU Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation, and facilitating the wider adoption of best practices among research organisations.
It also contributes to the objectives of the WIDERA programme by broadening participation in European research and innovation activities and strengthening national R&I systems.
Furthermore, Knowledge2Impact supports the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) by fostering innovation, promoting entrepreneurship, and reducing regional innovation disparities across Europe.
The project is also aligned with the EIT Higher Education Initiative and the European Strategy for Universities, integrating entrepreneurship and knowledge valorisation into higher education and research institutions.
Knowledge2Impact builds upon the achievements of the CloudEARTHi initiative, a European alliance bringing together more than 40 partner organisations from 19 countries.
The project is implemented by key members of the CloudEARTHi consortium, including Kyiv Academic University (KAU), Envolve Entrepreneurship, ATAM Technology, and Octa Insight.
Thanks to the established network of universities, research centres, laboratories, innovation hubs, and technology transfer offices, the project's outcomes will be rapidly disseminated and scaled beyond the consortium.
Knowledge2Impact also contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to quality education, innovation, economic growth, and international partnerships.
At the same time, all project activities are designed in accordance with the principles of Industry 5.0, promoting human-centric, sustainable, and resilient innovation.
Ultimately, Knowledge2Impact seeks to establish a modern European knowledge transfer ecosystem that accelerates the transformation of scientific research into technologies, start-ups, products, and solutions capable of generating long-term economic and societal value while strengthening Europe's global competitiveness.
The Knowledge2Impact project was officially launched on 3 July 2026 during the kick-off meeting held at the Research and Development Institute.
Funded under the Horizon Europe programme (HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-06-ERA-01), the project brings together partners from Romania (Transilvania University of Brașov, Digital Innovation Zone EDIH, Atelierul de Idei), Ukraine (Kyiv Academic University, Centre for Intellectual Property Studies and Technology Transfer of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations – UANIPIO), Türkiye (Ankara Medipol University, ATAM Technology), Greece (Envolve Entrepreneurship), Portugal (Fasttrack Ventures), Germany (DEEP Ecosystems), the United Kingdom (Fasttrack VC General Partner LLP), and Norway (Octa Insight).
The consortium's shared objective is to strengthen Europe's capacity to commercialise research results, enhance knowledge and technology transfer, and transform scientific excellence into innovative solutions with significant economic and societal impact.
