SFF DEEP CONNECT Selected Under the EIT Higher Education Initiative 2025/2026
20 July 2026
THUAS is proud to join SFF DEEP CONNECT, a European project selected under the EIT Higher Education Initiative 2025/2026 to strengthen deep tech innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration.
The Hague University of Applied Sciences is proud to announce that the Designing Value Networks research group, part of the Centre of Expertise Mission Zero, is a partner in SFF DEEP CONNECT. This European collaborative project has been selected under the EIT Higher Education Initiative (HEI) 2025/2026 Call, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
SFF DEEP CONNECT brings together 10 organisations from 10 European countries with a shared ambition: to strengthen Europe's deep tech innovation ecosystem by connecting higher education, research, entrepreneurship and industry. Building on the successful Start for Future ecosystem, the project will help universities further strengthen their role as drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship and societal impact.
From September 2026 through August 2028, the consortium will work on an integrated European approach that embeds entrepreneurship, innovation and intellectual property management more firmly within higher education institutions. Through cross border collaboration, shared infrastructures and joint programmes, SFF DEEP CONNECT will create stronger links between research and the market. At the same time, students, researchers, academic staff and entrepreneurs will gain the knowledge, skills and networks needed to bring deep tech innovations successfully to society.
Key Activities
Within the project, the consortium will:
• Deliver large scale innovation and entrepreneurship programmes for students, researchers and university staff.
• Establish Asset Matching Living Labs where research assets, entrepreneurial talent and societal and industrial challenges come together.
• Further develop the SFF Open Incubator 2.0 to support the creation and growth of deep tech startups.
• Develop the SFF EIT HEI Founder Passport to stimulate international collaboration and founder mobility across European innovation ecosystems.
• Strengthen the long term innovation and entrepreneurship capacity of participating higher education institutions.
By the end of the project, SFF DEEP CONNECT aims to:
• Train more than 4,500 participants.
• Support 30 or more startups.
• Contribute to the creation of 10 new deep tech ventures.
• Establish new innovation and entrepreneurship structures within participating universities.
• Build new strategic partnerships that further strengthen Europe's interconnected innovation ecosystem.
As a consortium partner, The Hague University of Applied Sciences will actively contribute to this ambitious initiative through the Designing Value Networks research group. Together with partners from across Europe, the university will help strengthen innovation capacity, accelerate the societal and economic valorisation of research, and support the next generation of deep tech entrepreneurs.
Consortium Partners
Dundalk Institute of Technology
Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi
SFF DEEP CONNECT is implemented with the support of EIT Culture & Creativity.