The first round of Unite!Widening’s matchmaking activities aimed at building competitive Horizon Europe consortia has surpassed expectations. Researchers from across the Unite! alliance and its partners engaged in discussions on 23 Horizon Europe calls, with the most promising initiatives set to progress to an in-person matchmaking workshop in Turin.
Strategic Aims and Process Design
The matchmaking process is designed to foster new research consortia capable of submitting strong Horizon Europe proposals in 2026 and 2027. It addresses all strategic focus areas of the Unite!Widening project:
- Health & Biotech
- Urban & Resource Sustainability
- Circular Economy & Materials
- Digital & Autonomous Technologies
With support from research experts at Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the University of Lisbon, the project team (WP4) conducted a targeted screening of the Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2026–2027. This resulted in the identification of 46 calls of high relevance to the Unite! universities and their wider innovation ecosystems. A focused dissemination campaign subsequently engaged researchers active in these domains across the alliance.
First Connections in a Virtual Setting
To maximise efficiency and accessibility, the matchmaking process was structured in two stages. The first round—held online—enabled researchers to explore collaboration opportunities with minimal time commitment. Based on these exchanges, the most promising consortia will be invited to a two-day, in-person matchmaking event at Politecnico di Torino.
The virtual session, held on 19 March 2026, attracted 207 registered participants from Unite! universities, external research institutions, and non-academic partners. Out of the original 46 Horizon Europe topics, the project team selected 23 high-potential topics, each assigned a dedicated breakout room. Priority was given to topics with identified coordinators and/or strong interest from multiple institutions.
A total of 174 participants—including 19 prospective Horizon Europe coordinators—actively took part in the session. Following a short plenary introduction, participants engaged in focused discussions for approximately 75 minutes within their respective breakout rooms, each facilitated by a topic coordinator where available.
Outlook: Towards Turin
Feedback gathered during the closing plenary session was overwhelmingly positive. While not all discussions are expected to lead to concrete proposals, the majority of participants reported meaningful exchanges with international peers.
Several prospective coordinators have already expressed strong interest in advancing their ideas during the second stage: a lunch-to-lunch matchmaking workshop at Politecnico di Torino on 12–13 May 2026. Currently, coordinators are submitting short pitches outlining their collaboration vision to the project team and Unite!Widening research experts. The most compelling concepts—demonstrating clear potential for Horizon Europe submissions in 2026 or 2027—will be selected for participation in Turin.
Further updates on this initiative will follow soon
