NEWS
Innovation Day connects ten European regions through a shared celebration of innovation
20 July 2026
In November 2025, RUN-EU successfully delivered the second edition of RUN-EU Innovation Day, a coordinated initiative organised simultaneously across all ten partner universities.
While each institution designed its own programme according to regional priorities and innovation ecosystems, all events shared the common objective of strengthening collaboration between universities, businesses, public authorities, schools, civil society organisations and citizens through innovation.
Throughout the Alliance, participants explored a broad spectrum of innovation topics including digital transformation, circular economy, social innovation, entrepreneurship, research commercialisation, artificial intelligence, sustainable technologies and STEAM education.
The diversity of the programmes reflected the unique strengths and priorities of each region while reinforcing a shared European vision of innovation as a driver for sustainable regional development.
Around 400 participants, including students, researchers, SMEs, start-ups, public authorities, schools, NGOs, regional development agencies and industry representatives, took part in the different Innovation Day activities. Across the ten regions, the events created valuable opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange and the development of new collaborations between academia and regional stakeholders.
Each institution showcased its own innovation ecosystem through interactive formats such as workshops, round-table discussions, laboratory visits, technology demonstrations, innovation fairs, keynote presentations and networking sessions. Participants explored real examples of research and innovation with societal impact while discussing future challenges and opportunities for their regions
Beyond the local events, the simultaneous organisation of the Innovation Day demonstrated the strength of the RUN-EU Alliance as a connected European innovation ecosystem. Although each university addressed different regional priorities, all activities contributed to the common ambition of bringing research, education and innovation closer to society while promoting collaboration across sectors and territories.
The initiative also reinforced the objectives of the RUN European Stakeholder Engagement Centre (ESEC) by expanding relationships with regional partners and increasing the visibility of RUN-EU within local innovation ecosystems. Many institutions reported new opportunities for collaborative projects, stronger engagement with external stakeholders and follow-up activities involving companies, public organisations and community partners.
Building on the success of this first coordinated edition, the RUN-EU Innovation Day is expected to become an annual flagship initiative of the Alliance, strengthening regional innovation ecosystems while fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across Europe.
