The INDUSAC project, funded under the Horizon Europe programme, has officially concluded following three years of development, experimentation, and collaborative innovation. From September 2022 to August 2025, this initiative implemented a rapid, inclusive, and challenge-driven mechanism designed to facilitate the co-creation of solutions between companies and international teams comprising students and researchers.
At its essence, INDUSAC sought to bridge the divide between industry and academia by providing a structured and human-centered approach to addressing real-world innovation challenges. The project integrated a digital collaboration platform, micro-funding for students, and a comprehensive methodology to support short-term projects, typically spanning four to eight weeks.
During the implementation phase, 251 innovation challenges were published by companies across Europe. These challenges were addressed by 163 co-creation teams, which included more than 580 student and researcher engagements. A total of 192 students received financial support, and 159 solutions were formally accepted by companies. Notably, 67% of participants originated from EU widening countries, aligning with the project’s objective to foster balanced and inclusive innovation ecosystems.
Participants consistently reported favorable outcomes. 90% of students and researchers indicated an enhancement in transversal and entrepreneurial skills, such as negotiation, teamwork, creativity, and leadership. In the project’s final year, companies rated the usefulness of the proposed solutions at over 92%, with more than 91% of all participants expressing their willingness to recommend INDUSAC to others.
In addition to achieving robust quantitative results, the project effectively established a cross-border, multi-stakeholder community focused on critical themes such as sustainability, circularity, digitalisation, and future skills. The collaboration model tested within INDUSAC is now available for adoption by other organizations through open-access materials and guidelines.
The project culminated with a final event in Vienna, Austria, coinciding with EIT Manufacturing Day 2025. Over 500 participants attended the event, which featured platform demonstrations, co-creation workshops, and high-level discussions regarding the future of industry–academia cooperation in Europe.
We would like to thank all partners, companies, students, researchers, and supporters who made INDUSAC a success.
The project’s achievements reflect a shared commitment to collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. We are proud of the outcomes — but even more so, of the network, knowledge and mutual trust that have been built.
Although the project has officially ended, we believe the INDUSAC model has the potential to live on — adapted, scaled, and implemented in new contexts across Europe and beyond. We look forward to continuing the conversation, sharing the results, and supporting future initiatives inspired by the spirit of INDUSAC.
Let’s keep co-creating.