Our upcoming pitching event is designed to be a dynamic platform where innovation meets opportunity.
📅October 20, 2026
⏲From 15:00 to 17:15 CET
📍Online
Information
- Goal: Promotion of innovative, sustainability-driven projects from the CHARM-EU Alliance
- Participants: Students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, alumni, entrepreneurs and start-ups from CHARM-EU partner universities and their regional ecosystems
- Format: Video pitches followed by live Q&A with an expert jury
- Jury: Multidisciplinary jury of European experts (incubators, TTOs, investors)
- Award: Feature article and LinkedIn campaign for the winning team; CHARM-EU badge, website feature, Pitch Guide and expert feedback for all selected teams
- Sustainability: Central topic of the contest
Event Features
Open eligibility: the contest is open to students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, alumni, entrepreneurs and start-ups linked to a CHARM-EU university or its regional innovation ecosystem, regardless of the project’s stage of maturity. Note: unlike last year, there are no longer two separate competition strands for early-stage vs. mature projects; all eligible profiles now compete together in a single track.
Focus on sustainability: projects must contribute to sustainability in a broad sense (environmental, social, or economic)
Video pitches: each team submits a 5-minute video pitch in English. Before creating the video pitch, please check these guidelines.
Live Q&A: each pitch is followed by a 7-minute Q&A session in English with a jury of European experts.
Expert jury: each partner university forms a multidisciplinary jury including representatives from incubators, technology transfer offices, and investors.
Evaluation criteria
Quality of the pitch (clarity, presentation material)
Effectiveness and precision in addressing jury questions
Business idea
Project feasibility
Sustainability perspective
Key Dates
21 September 2026: each selected team will need to submit a two-page document summarizing the key points of their project. This will be shared with the jury members and other event stakeholders ahead of the event.
5 October 2026: all participating teams must submit a 5-minute video pitch ahead of the event, in English, summarizing their project and highlighting its impact on sustainability. The Pitch Guidelines are available to help teams prepare their pitch.
20 October 2026, 3:00-5:15 PM (CET): contest event
Benefits for the winning team
The winning team will receive a dedicated marketing package to boost the visibility of their project, including:
- A dedicated feature article on the CHARM-EU website
- A promotional campaign on LinkedIn
- CHARM-EU badge