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Bridging Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Transforming cybersecurity education, innovation, and entrepreneurship across European higher education institutions
Project Period
May 2025 - May 2027
Funding Amount
€1.3M
Funded by
EIT Higher Education Initiative
InnovaCyBridge
Project Overview
InnovaCyBridge is a multidisciplinary European project that aims to transform how cybersecurity education, innovation, and entrepreneurship are delivered within higher education institutions. The project responds to the growing complexity of cyber threats, the rapid adoption of AI-enabled technologies, and the urgent need for talent that can operate across technical, organisational, and business contexts.
By combining structured cybersecurity education with challenge-based innovation, venture readiness support, and cross-sector collaboration, InnovaCyBridge enables universities to move beyond traditional classroom-based teaching and embed cybersecurity capability within real-world innovation and business environments.
InnovaCyBridge places strong emphasis on institutional capacity building, ensuring that participating HEIs develop sustainable structures, transferable practices, and long-term partnerships that extend beyond the lifetime of the project. The initiative supports students, Early Career Researchers (ECRs), startups, and innovators, while also strengthening the ability of academic and non-academic staff to deliver high-quality, industry-relevant cybersecurity programmes.
Aims and Approach
The core aim of InnovaCyBridge is to bridge the gap between cybersecurity education, innovation, and entrepreneurship by embedding deep-tech cybersecurity capabilities within higher education and regional innovation ecosystems.
The project adopts a practice-led, challenge-based, and collaborative approach, integrating:
1
Structured cybersecurity training aligned to industry and organisational needs
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Hands-on innovation activities driven by real corporate challenges
3
Venture building and startup support mechanisms
4
Cross-institutional knowledge exchange and capacity building
InnovaCyBridge is underpinned by strong governance, shared digital infrastructure, and a commitment to transferability, ensuring that successful models, tools, and practices can be adopted and scaled by other HEIs across Europe.
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Cybersecurity Education and Capacity Building
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Design and delivery of modular cybersecurity training programmes covering governance, organisational resilience, security operations, threat detection, and incident response
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Train-the-Trainer programmes enabling partner institutions to independently deliver and adapt course content
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Deployment of a shared digital learning environment to support consistent, high-quality delivery across countries
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Challenge-Based Innovation and Industry Engagement
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Collection and activation of real-world corporate cybersecurity challenges
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Delivery of InnoBridge and VentureBridge activities connecting corporates, startups, and innovators
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Structured pitching, demo days, and matchmaking sessions supporting collaboration and pilot opportunities
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Startup and Innovator Support
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Venture readiness workshops and mentoring for startups and innovators
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Structured support pathways for InnoBridge finalists, from challenge briefing to pitch preparation
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Integration of innovation support within university ecosystems
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Knowledge Exchange and Dissemination
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Delivery of workshops across all partner locations for students, ECRs, startups, and innovators
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Consortium-wide newsletters, social media dissemination, and ecosystem engagement
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Establishment of Communities of Practice to support mutual learning and exchange of good practices
Key Activities (Phase 1)
Expected Outcomes and Impact
Through its integrated approach, InnovaCyBridge delivers:
Strengthened cybersecurity education and innovation capacity within HEIs
Improved readiness of students, startups, and innovators to engage with industry and real-world cyber challenges
Sustainable institutional structures for training, innovation, and partnership building
Enhanced collaboration between academia, industry, and regional innovation ecosystems
By embedding transferable models for cybersecurity education, challenge-based innovation, and venture support, InnovaCyBridge contributes to building a resilient, inclusive, and innovation-driven European cybersecurity ecosystem.
Key Collaborators
Coordinator
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ASTON UNIVERSITY
Dr. Anitha Chinnaswamy, Prof. Alexeis Garcia Perez, Vidhya Sivakumar
Aston University coordinates the overall project implementation and leads the development and transfer of the Cybersecurity Management training modules. ASTON delivers the “Train the Trainers” programme, ensures academic quality, oversees KPI monitoring, and aligns all modules with ISACA and international standards.
Partner Organisations
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Dr. Vivien Surman, Dóra Dankó
BME leads knowledge sharing and community building through the InnoCircle Communities of Practice and Knowledge Hubs. It coordinates the development and publication of case studies, facilitates staff mobility exchanges, and strengthens ecosystem collaboration across partners.
Hellenic Mediterranean University
Athina Bourdena, Evangelos Markakis, Maria Chatzimina
HMU contributes interdisciplinary expertise in cybersecurity, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship education. It supports module delivery, evaluation, and impact reporting, while strengthening SME resilience through applied research and specialised training programmes.
University Business Academy Novi Sad
Ljiljana Cumura, Aleksandar Asonja, Tamara Krstić
UBANS supports training implementation, stakeholder engagement, and impact evaluation. It contributes to dissemination activities and promotional outputs, while ensuring integration of cybersecurity and entrepreneurship education within its academic ecosystem.
Deep tech foundry (a8)
Sevi Tuominen, Gonca Kara
A8 delivers structured venture-building and commercialisation support under the VentureBridge programme. It provides startup mentoring, scaling strategies, investor readiness training, and supports Demo Days and funding pathways for market-ready solutions.