ABOUT ETI LABS
The Erasmus Talent & Innovation Labs (ETI Labs) project is a forward-looking initiative designed to strengthen the connection between higher education and the labour market.
Funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, ETI Labs brings together universities, businesses, and policymakers to co-create an integrated learning ecosystem. By strengthening the link between higher education and labour market needs, ETI Labs supports regions in addressing skills gaps and improving graduates’ transition into employment.
THE GOALS OF ETI LABS
ETI Labs connects higher education with the labor market, equipping students with digital, entrepreneurial, and sustainable skills to meet industry demands. By addressing skills mismatch and employability challenges, the project ensures graduates are job-ready and future-proof.
(1) Strengthening University-Business Cooperation: We create synergies between academia and industry, fostering hands-on learning, knowledge exchange, and real-world problem-solving through strategic partnerships.
(2) Expanding Learning Opportunities: ETI Labs enhances educational pathways by integrating innovation, digital skills, and sustainability, offering practical learning experiences that go beyond traditional academic programs.
(3) Boosting Employability & Career Readiness: Through Talent & Innovation Labs and a structured traineeship track, ETI Labs bridges the gap between students and careers, ensuring stronger connections to the job market.
ACTIVITIES AND KEY MILESTONES
2025: Building the foundations
In its first year, ETI Labs focused on laying a strong, evidence-based foundation for the project. The consortium worked to better understand the realities behind skills mismatches across Europe, drawing on the experiences of students, graduates, employers and institutions.
This phase combined research, stakeholder engagement and framework development to identify what works in University–Business Cooperation (UBC), where gaps remain, and how collaboration can better support the development of digital, entrepreneurial and sustainability competences.
A key milestone was a dedicated ETI Labs session held during the 40th anniversary of AER’s annual Eurodyssey Forum in Barcelona in October 2025. As AER’s regional traineeship programme, Eurodyssey provided the ideal setting to bring together regional authorities and stakeholders to reflect on what high-quality traineeships for recent graduates should look like in practice. This exchange directly informed the project’s approach to strengthening mobility and employability at regional level.
2026: Implementation and pilots
In 2026, ETI Labs moves from research to action. Pilot activities (ImpacThons) will bring together students and recent graduates, companies, higher education institutions and public authorities to collaborate on concrete challenges in an international setting.
These pilots in 3 European regions will test how structured, competence-based cooperation can help address skills gaps more effectively, while generating practical insights for regions and policymakers.
More information on the ImpacThons taking place in autumn 2026.
2027: Policy and sustainability
The final phase of ETI Labs focuses on maximising long-term impact. Building on the results of the pilots, the project will deliver:
- Policy recommendations for regional, national and European levels
- Practical models for strengthening University-Business Cooperation
- Advocacy and dissemination activities
- A high-level stakeholder event
This phase will ensure that ETI Labs outcomes are not only tested, but also scalable, transferable and relevant for regions across Europe.
CHECK OUT OUR RESOURCES
Educated but not Equipped?
A publication exploring how enhanced University–Business Cooperation can close Europe’s digital, entrepreneurial, and sustainability competence gaps among students and graduates.
Recent-Graduate Traineeship Tracks
A publication examining the Recent-Graduate Trainee Track (RGTT) as a European minimum-standard framework to make post-graduate traineeships more quality-assured, equitable, and mobility-friendly.
Learning Meets Practice
A publication exploring innovative UBC models that bridge education and the labour market through real-world, competence-driven learning.
UBC for Transformation
A Literature Review on Student Competence Development in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Digital Innovation.
The ImpacThon Methodology
A publication describing the pedagogical approach used by the ETI Labs project to structure experiential learning, aiming to enhance student and graduate employability by fostering digital, green, and entrepreneurial competences.
PROJECT PARTNERS
ETI Labs brings together a diverse consortium of European organisations:
- Erasmus Student Network (ESN) – Belgium
- European Association for the Applied Sciences in Higher Education (EURASHE) – Belgium
- ESSCA School of Management – France
Higher Education Institutions
- Western Norway University of Applied Sciences – Bergen, Vestland Region (Norway)
- MCI Management Center Innsbruck – Innsbruck, Tyrol Region (Austria)
- Algebra University – Zagreb, Zagreb Region (Croatia)
QUESTIONS
If you have any question about the ETI Labs project, please feel free to reach out to our European Project Coordinator, Mirjam de Jong ([email protected]).
The ETI Labs project is financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the call ERASMUS-2024-PCOOP-ENGO. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
