BECOME AN EIA MENTOR AND SHAPE THE NEXT GENERATION OF INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS

Out of approximately 8 billion people worldwide, only 400 million are entrepreneurs.
Let's change that together!

GIVE BACK AND CHANGE THE WORLD

We are changing the mindsets of young innovators and teaching them what it means to become an entrepreneur. 

EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS NETWORKS

Our mentors and students are the brightest minds coming from top universities and outstanding companies all over the world.

FEEL HAPPY, PROUD, AND SATISFIED

Be part of the participants' transformational journey. Maybe you are mentoring future top CEOs and founders.

TRAVEL TO INTERESTING DESTINATIONS

Our programs have been held in France, Italy, Qatar, Portugal and China. We are constantly expanding to reach more students.

MENTORING BRIDGES THE GENERATION GAP

Review and validate your learning and accomplishments. Simultaneously adopt a new outlook on your challenges.

Before becoming an EIA mentor, here are a few requirements

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO MENTOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS?

Our programs have 8 types of mentors and experts (business mentors, marketing mentors, design mentors, software mentors, hardware mentors, life coaches, IP lawyers, and investors. Their main goal is to be the inspiration and the motivation for participants. In addition to the following: 

  • Previous mentoring experience in an accelerator, incubator, hackathon, bootcamp, or startup program
  • More than 3 years of experience working in or closely with successful startups or top multinational tech companies.
  • Proven interpersonal skills and the ability to work with and in a team

Our mentorship is pro bono.

GET INVITED

How the process works?

  1. Fill Out the Form: Drop us your info through our quick online form.
  2. We Take a Look: Our team will check out your application to find the best fit for our mentor team.
  3. Let’s Talk: If we think you’re a match, we’ll hit you up for an online call to chat more and fill you in on the details.
  4. Here’s the Scoop: For those who nail the call, we’ll send over all the info you need to join us as a mentor.
  5. Gear Up: Get ready for an onboarding and training session to prep you for the journey ahead.
  6. Prep for Success: If you’re joining us in person, no sweat, we’ve got your travel covered!
    Mentoring from the comfort of your home? We’ll make sure you’re all set for online mentoring.

Need Help? Just Ask! If there’s anything you’re wondering about or need more info on, feel free to contact our Mentors Whisperer Carolina at marianne@inacademy.eu.

As a pitch coach and business mentor, it is always an inspiration to see how EIA enables future generations to solve the problems that matter with innovative business ideas by bringing the brightest minds together in a program that just works every time.

Dirk Lehmann

Pitch Coach & Innovation Advisor | Dirk Lehmann & Partners
2019 was my inaugural year as a marketing mentor for EIA. It was such a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside such bright, creative minds and passionate hearts from around the world. Being a part of this team has made me very confident that the future is very bright.

Katie Gilstrap

Assistant Professor of Marketing | VCU
The reason why I have the highest possible respect for the people who organize the EIA is the mission they carry. They’re creating a safe environment for students, so they could have hands-on experience and opportunity to experiment building their first-ever company with 0 risks.

Rene Rumberg

Founder | ConsultLab
"I've had the great opportunity to participate as a Marketing Mentor in six different editions of European Innovation Academy, and each one of them left me with some incredible memories. As a mentor, I try to listen as much as possible, guiding startups along their way but without controlling them because I do believe that teams must make their own decisions.

Diego D'Aquilio

With a fair set of successes and failures in the startup world, I was hoping I’d be a valuable asset as a mentor in the EIA program. But I never expected to get that much back from the students! Their passion, work ethic, and incredible ability to adapt to unknown situations were so refreshing and inspiring.

Merily Leis

Head of Marketing | Klaus
It was an amazing time spent with lots of smart students around the world. I enjoyed every day due to the super-smooth organization. It was an intense and fulfilling experience which needs to be repeated 🙂

Arvydas Pleta

Co-Founder and CEO | Aichom
I've loved being a lecturer and mentor with EIA. The students are incredible, with such creativity, passion, and ambition - they are a pleasure to work with and teach. I've kept in touch with many of the students I've mentored, helping them get jobs and build connections even after EIA. It's been a joy watching these incredible young people grow and thrive.

Shira Abel

CEO & Lead Strategist | Hunter & Bard
The program provides an entrepreneurship school in a setting that doesn't depend on the lectures and textbooks. We build companies here and learn by doing. Everybody rolls up their sleeves and builds companies from scratch.

Rick Rasmussen

Industry Fellow | UC Berkley
With EIA, I was to share my expertise in building startups and developing products and the frameworks to many students across the world. Thank you for EIA to help bring forth my mentor skills.

Anand Arivukkarasa

I have been with EIA for 7 events in the past 5 years and that means a lot to me. The chance to give back and learn from the experiences of tens of teams every year makes it possible to see the world develop into a much more creative place. The EIA Events are a very unique thing to experience.

Fred Moritz

Creative Art Director | Reval STC
Innovation Academy is a high-energy program that brings out the best in its participants. I enjoyed watching each team and their ideas grow week-over-week and I am grateful to have had the chance to share my startup experience with the next wave of young self-starters.

Maeghan Smulders

Mentoring with EIA is like going back to school. It’s the ultimate learning challenge - developing your skills and growing your career by teaching others.

Maido Parv

Senior Visual Designer | Microsoft
EIA is not only a start-up program but is a family where participants, mentors, and the staff create a positive environment where it is good to be For me, even as a Mentor is a great growing experience.

Dario Olivero

Design Director |DORODESIGN
The European Innovation Academy is one of the foremost and advanced programme of its kind and I feel honoured being part of it.

Matt Kuppers

Founder & CEO | Startup Manufactory
EIA attracts very talented and dedicated students whom it is a joy to mentor. I love the mix from sharing best practice by mentors and other thought leaders and accompanying the student teams on their journey from idea to start up that can pass the grilling by potential investors. Therefore I keep coming back as a Chief Mentor.

Dagmar Eisenbach

The program is extremely well crafted and the work of the mentors is precisely defined, allowing us to work as a cohesive team with the sole goal of making the projects successful and delivering a superior educational experience to all participants.

David Carvalhão

Portugal Business Liaison | Vigil365

EIA 2024/2025

During our programs, participants go through all the steps they need when building a company: starting with finding the right team and ending with presenting their solution to a large audience. 

The goal of the programs is to facilitate learning. Obviously, we encourage our teams to continue working after the program, but it is more about changing the mindset, teaching them our methodology and tools. 

 

"Start for Good" Hybrid Startup Bootcamp in Qatar, 13 October - 9 November, 2024
European Innovation Academy (EIA) in Portugal, 20 July - 8 August, 2025
European Innovation Academy (EIA) in Italy, 27 July - 15 August, 2025

OUR MENTOR POOL

WANT TO JOIN OUR PROGRAM?

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