EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD 2026

Scholarships of up to €1,499 for students and young professionals with the ambition to build a startup this summer.

Join young entrepreneurs from around the world are finding solutions that will save the planet.

The European Innovation Academy is looking for enthusiastic students and young professionals that want to make a difference.

This is a unique chance to get a Merit-based tuition reduction for EIA Porto, Rome, or London. Apply and have the chance to learn how to define an idea, create a strategy, work as a team and make it happen.

Our mission at EIA is to teach young entrepreneurs like you, how to turn your idea into a solution and into a business

Applied directly to your EIA 2026 tuition!

Who Should Apply? This award is for builders.

You're working on something.

You have a startup idea, a side project, or a problem you're obsessed with solving. You don't need a finished product. You need the drive to build one.

Engineering, design, data science, business, you bring real skills to a founding team. You're a maker, not just a thinker.

You want to go from idea to launch.
You're a student or young professional (18-30) who wants to take the leap from "I should start something" to actually doing it.

Submit your application through our online form. Tell us about yourself, your background, and what you want to build. Takes 5 minutes.

Our scholarship committee evaluates your entrepreneurial potential. Your ideas, skills, and track record. We may ask for your LinkedIn or a short conversation.

Selected candidates are notified within 5 business days with their award amount and an official European Entrepreneurship Award certificate.

Stop planning. Start building.

The European Innovation Academy is offering scholarships to the world’s largest entrepreneurship program. It’s your chance to help us achieve the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and create a positive impact.

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Reduce inequality within and among countries

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Apply for the European Entrepreneurship Award and join 25,000+ alumni who started here.

EIA is the place to think big. At the program, you’ll learn how to turn your idea into reality and start making a difference. During three weeks, you’ll meet young entrepreneurs from all over the world and find your future dream team.

Develop your idea while being mentored by top-notch professionals and have access to exclusive keynotes.

Awards range up to €1,499 per student, based on your profile and background. The exact amount is determined by the scholarship committee after reviewing your application.

The European Innovation Academy is a three-week program where you turn your startup idea into reality. Our mission is to educate future entrepreneurs around the world, as we believe that young entrepreneurs have the energy, knowledge and will to find solutions to the most pressing problems in the world. Learn from experts with a methodology developed through joint partnerships with professionals from the world’s top institutions, including Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, and Google.

Apply now!

Everything you need to know:

The European Entrepreneurship Award is merit-based. It recognizes your entrepreneurial potential and track record, not your financial situation.

You don't need a startup idea, It helps, but it's not required. We're looking for a builder mindset. People who start things, solve problems, and take initiative. A clear problem you want to tackle is enough.

You can combine the European Entrepreneurship Award with other fundings. Many students combine the EIA award with university travel grants, Erasmus+ funding, Turing Scheme grants, or departmental scholarships. We can provide documentation for your university's funding applications.

This is a intensive 15-day entrepreneurship training (8-10h per day)

You will have daily mentoring sessions by Silicon Valley and global experts, access to the pool of mentors, speakers, and VCs global entrepreneurship network.

Entitlement to six (6) ECTS.

Access to the best tools to work on the world’s biggest problems.

And a lot more!

Travel expenses and accommodation are not included in the scholarship and have to be paid by the recipient.

Porto: July 20 - August 7, 2026

Italy: July 15 - August 4, 2026

London: July 13 - 31, 2026

Apply now!