The Horizon Europe project will develop training programmes, competence frameworks and funding opportunities to support knowledge and technology transfer professionals across Europe.
How can Europe ensure that excellent research creates real impact for society and the economy? This is the question addressed by Skills4Valorisation, a new Horizon Europe project designed to strengthen the skills and services of knowledge and technology transfer professionals working in universities and research organisations across Europe.
The project officially launched during its kick-off meeting held in Pamplona, Spain, on 18-19 June 2026, bringing together four organisations from Spain, Portugal and Germany. Funded under the Horizon Europe WIDERA programme with a total budget of €2 million, Skills4Valorisation will run for three years to build a shared European framework for skills, services and best practices for the knowledge transfer community.
Professionals working in Knowledge and Technology Transfer Offices across universities and research organisations play a key role in connecting research with society, industry and the market.
Skills4Valorisation aims to strengthen their capacity by providing access to harmonised training opportunities, practical tools and specialised support services.
Over 36 months, the consortium will develop a European Competence Framework for knowledge transfer professionals, seven modular training programmes, practical toolkits and a cascade funding scheme open to universities and research organisations across Europe. Through two competitive open calls, the project will support at least 20 pilot projects with a total funding pot of €600,000.
Skills4Valorisation will also deploy an AI-powered coaching tool and peer-learning network to support participating institutions.
Małgorzata Olszewska, Project Manager at Sploro, says:
Europe has no shortage of excellent research. What it needs is better infrastructure to connect that research to the people and organisations that can use it. Skills4Valorisation is our contribution to building that infrastructure: one professional, one institution at a time.
Skills4Valorisation brings together four partners representing complementary areas of expertise in knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation ecosystems and startup support.
The consortium is coordinated by Sploro (Spain) and includes Mobile World Capital Barcelona (Spain), EurA Innovation Ecosystems (Portugal) and the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (Germany).
Sploro contributes its experience in managing European innovation projects and cascade funding programmes, while Mobile World Capital Barcelona brings expertise in technology transfer and venture creation through The Collider. EurA Innovation Ecosystems contributes its extensive experience in innovation support services and European funding programmes, including the European Innovation Council’s Business Acceleration Services. The Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) at HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences complements the consortium with its expertise in entrepreneurship education, startup incubation and innovation capacity building.
About Skills4Valorisation
Skills4Valorisation is a Horizon Europe project funded under the WIDERA programme under Grant Agreement No. 101291711, with a total budget of €2 million. Running from June 2026 to May 2029, the initiative aims to strengthen knowledge and technology transfer capacities across Europe through competence frameworks, training programmes, cascade funding opportunities and AI-supported coaching services. The project brings together four organisations from Spain, Portugal and Germany and is coordinated by Sploro.