About the Project

GroundUp about hero background
Call ID

HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-02-01

Duration

06.2025 – 06.2027 (24 m)

Total Budget
0 €
Partners
0
Countries
0
Duration
0 Months

What Do We Do?

The GroundUp project is building a strong CBRNE innovation ecosystem in Southern Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by uniting a wide array of stakeholders, ranging from students and researchers to businesses, end-users, and public institutions.

Through targeted engagement, capacity-building, and interlinking activities, GroundUp promotes knowledge exchange and technological advancement to ensure sustainable regional and EU-wide impact.

Project Objectives

Establish a Business Community

This initiative will engage tech providers, end-users, and support services like digital tech, finance, and consultancy. While focusing on private entities, it will also include government and NGOs.

1

Create an Education and Research Hub

The Education and Research Hub will drive knowledge transfer, innovation, and entrepreneurship in CBRNE-related academia, bridging the gap with industry in Southern CEE.

2

Boost entrepreneurship, employability, and a business-oriented mindset

To ensure better connectedness between students, researchers from HEIs and RTOs with other CBRNE ecosystem actors providing career opportunities, GroundUp will launch a hands-on business mentoring programme.

3

Large-scale clustering, extensive communication, and dissemination efforts

GroundUp will implement a strong Communication and Dissemination Plan, build a cluster of relevant EU-funded projects around GroundUp with active expert groups, and run Global Outreach activities involving key stakeholders such as INTERPOL, UNODC, EU Innovation Hub, etc.

4

Key Results

1

Improve the interconnection of research organisations and market actors of CBRNE technologies.

2

Connect the Southern CEE R&I landscape into Europe’s CBRNE business ecosystem.

3

Transfer knowledge and skills between academia and enterprises of the sector.

4

Strengthen market uptake of new technologies coming from Southern CEE.

5

Increase entrepreneurial skills of participating students, graduates and researchers.

6

Boost entrepreneurial activity in the Southern CEE region.

7

Build innovative solutions to current and future challenges.

8

More accessible local talents in the Southern CEE region are equipped with business skills.

Impact

Integration

GROUNDUP project integrates:

  1. Southern CEE educational and research organisations into the European CBRNE business ecosystem by establishing the ERH, the BC and facilitating their interconnection;
  2. market actors from moderate innovator regions and strong innovator regions on project level and on longer term;
  3. major actors of the innovation ecosystem in line with the quadruple helix model: academia, industry, government and community (through NGOs).
Knowledge Transfers

By the results achieved in the GROUNDUP project knowledge transfer and skill transfer will be boosted between

  1. moderate innovator regions in particular Southern CEE and strong innovator regions represented by PN from France and SBN from Ireland
  2. academia and the CBRNE business ecosystem by the interconnection of the ERH and the BC.
Networking

The GROUNDUP project enhances networking skills of CBRNE ecosystem actors through several key activities:

  1. The project establishes the Business Community (BC) and the Education & Research Hub (ERH), which create structured platforms for interaction among diverse CBRNE actors.
  2. Organizing hackathons and other networking events facilitates direct engagement between students, researchers, and industry professionals, enhancing their networking capabilities.
  3. The mentoring programme offers opportunities for mentees to build connections with experienced professionals and industry leaders.
  4. The project’s Knowledge and Insight Hub provides a centralized platform for stakeholders to share information, collaborate, and expand their professional networks.
  5. Engaging in targeted outreach and stakeholder engagement helps broaden the network of connections within the CBRNE sector.
Upskilling & Capacity Building

GROUNDUP will improve

  1. Skill Development: The Mentoring Programme directly enhances entrepreneurial, leadership, project management, and risk-taking skills. It provides practical experience and guidance from professionals to participants.
  2. Start-Up Competence: The hackathons and mentoring activities support the development of competencies needed to launch and lead start-ups in the CBRNE sector. These activities help refine business concepts and support new venture management.
  3. Regional Entrepreneurship: Network building and global outreach efforts connect Southern CEE with European innovation ecosystems. This stimulates entrepreneurial activity in the region, encouraging innovative CBRNE solutions and boosting the region’s profile as an entrepreneurial hub.