The European Innovation Academy (EIA) is regarded by many as the largest European university programme in digital innovation. The event Road2EIA took place this Monday, 8th April, and brought together participants from EIA’s previous editions, one EIA representative and several potential candidates. The main aim of this event was to disseminate EIA’s programme.

According to professor Luís Caldas de Oliveira, Vice-president of IST for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Relations, “this is a unique opportunity for all Técnico students. This year we will award 30 scholarships that will allow our students to participate in this entrepreneurship programme”. 29 students have already participated in EIA’s last editions.

Zeca Duarte, Manager of Corporate Sponsorships at EIA, gave more details about the programme and highlighted its benefits: “Networking, knowledge, multidisciplinary learning and friendship”. “Our main goal is to educate the future entrepreneurs”, said Zeca Duarte. This is an intense and demanding 3-week programme but, at the end, the students recognise EIA’s positive impact on their lives.

Sofia Lança, Andreé Miranda, Maria João Jacinto and Tomás Pereira were awarded scholarships that allowed them to experience EIA’s programme. They shared their experiences, difficulties and expectations: “This is an extraordinary programme because it’s different from the other entrepreneurship programmes. It allows us to experience something unique and to establish important connections”, said Andreé Miranda, Mechanical Engineering student. “EIA allows us to think outside the box, to meet people from around the world, who teach us how to take advantage of opportunities and to turn our ideas into successful projects”, said Tomás Pereira, Mechanical engineering student.

During April, TT@Técnico will organise a set of events that will further disseminate the details of this entrepreneurship programme.