BIKE-HEI Awards
1st Edition Wrap-up!

The BIKE-HEI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards, promoted by the BIKE-HEI project and supported by EIT Raw Materials, recognise and showcase high-potential spin-offs and start-ups emerging from BIKE-HEI partner higher education institutions and their surrounding innovation ecosystems. The Awards target early-stage, impact-driven ventures aligned with BIKE-HEI’s core thematic priorities—Artificial Intelligence, Climate Action, and the Green and Circular Economy—while promoting gender-inclusive entrepreneurship. Serving as a strategic instrument to strengthen HEI innovation capacity and to foster effective links between academia, entrepreneurship, and the wider EIT ecosystem, the initiative directly contributes to Work Package 6 and to long-term community building within partner ecosystems. The first edition, concluded in December 2025, engaged students, academic and non-academic staff, and alumni from partner HEIs, awarding a €2,000 prize to the most promising entrepreneurial initiatives, with two further editions planned in 2026. Moreover, each University held their own ceremony to celebrate the winning recipients of the Award (look at the descriptions and pictures below).

BIKE-HEI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award 2025

1st Edition

The BIKE-HEI Consortium is proud to present the 1st edition of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award 2025, supported by EIT Raw Materials.

BIKE-HEI – Boosting Innovation and Knowledge in European Higher Education Institutions is an initiative co-funded by the EIT Raw Materials that supports universities in becoming key actors of innovation ecosystems. By enhancing institutional capacities, fostering entrepreneurship, and supporting the creation of start-ups and spin-offs, BIKE-HEI empowers higher education institutions to drive change in priority areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Climate Action, and the Green Economy.

For this reason, we want to invite students, researchers, staff, and alumni from our partner HEIs (the University of Alicante, Saarland University, Mariupol State University, the University of Primorska) and their ecosystems to present their entrepreneurial initiatives to us. The Award aims to highlight and support the most promising early-stage start-ups and spin-offs focused on artificial intelligence, climate and environmental solutions, and green or circular economy innovations.

This initiative is part of BIKE-HEI’s broader effort to support institutional transformation through innovation, and to provide tailored services to new ventures emerging from higher education institutions.

 •  A €2000 prize for the recipients of the BIKE-HEI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award;

 •  Possibility to take part in the BIKE-HEI Final Conference at the University of Primorska (travel budget included);

 •  Mentorship and tailored growth support from innovation experts within the BIKE Hub;

 •  Promotion of your initiative across BIKE-HEI and EIT ecosystems;

 •  Visibility through the BIKE Hub, including a success story feature;

 •  Opportunity to pitch your project at BIKE-HEI-related events;

 •  Eligibility for future acceleration programmes.

You are a student, researcher, staff member, or alumnus/alumna from one of the following BIKE-HEI Consortium institutions:

• • • University of Alicante
    • Saarland University 
    • University of Primorska
    • Mariupol State University
    • Other insitutions who are part of the abovementioned institutions ecosystems can participate

Legally registered within the past 5 years and realized within a strong and defined concept

• Artificial Intelligence
• Climate or environmental solutions
• Green or circular economy

• A completed online form (including project description and motivation)
• A project summary (PDF format – 5 pages max)
• A 5-slide pitch deck (PPT format – 5 slides max) – audiovisual material not exceeding 3 minutes can be included

• Project Summary Template (Word format; must be saved as PDF): Download Annex 1
• Pitch Deck Template (PowerPoint format): Download Annex 2

Deadline for submission: 24th of November

Once each winner per HEI institution has been declared, recipients will be sent an e-mail confirming the success of their application. The applicant will then have a 3-day period to give their availability to receive the prize and accept the Award. If the candidates reject the prize or do not respond within the given limit, the jury will proceed with selecting other suitable candidates.

If the candidates reject the prize or do not respond within the given limit, the jury will proceed with selecting other suitable candidates.

Applications will be registered through Microsoft Forms and materials will be sent to mail:

Note: applications sent directly to info@bike-hub.eu without filling in the registration form linked above will not be considered.

The evaluation process is built to be fair, transparent, and proportionate to the volume ofapplications received. At the time in which the applications will be closed, a jury made up of three representatives of each HEI partner institution will rate the candidates. Final scores are averaged, and top scorers are selected. The candidates with the most points will be awarded as the winner.

During this edition, each university will nominate onlyone recipient per institution, for a total of 4 winners.

For each shortlisted venture in Phase 2, Consortium members will have to rate the following criteria from 1 to 5 (1=insufficient; 2=below expectations; 3=sufficient; 4=good; 5=excellent):

• Innovation
• Societal and environmental impact
• Feasibility and scalability
• Team capacity
• Thematic relevance
• Team diversity

• In the event of a tie, the candidate with the most points in the “Innovation” criterion will be deemed as the winner.

The BIKE-HEI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award organizers are committed to protecting the confidentiality of all information provided by applicants during the application and evaluation process. All personal and project-related information submitted will be treated as confidential and shared only with the evaluation committee members.

Any data collected will not be disclosed to third parties without explicit consent from the applicant, except as required by law. Applicants are encouraged to mark any proprietary or sensitive information as confidential within their submissions.

The evaluation committee will take all necessary precautions to prevent unauthorized access to any confidential materials. In addition, applicants must demonstrate personal and professional integrity to be eligible for the award. Submissions associated with unethical content, misleading claims, or illegal activities will be excluded from the selection process.