CBE JU Networking Event

In-person

Dates

21 April 2026 (Brussels time)

Location

Brussels, Belgium

The CBE JU Networking Event will be held in Brussels as a full day of meetings to establish collaborations around the CBE JU 2026 call for project proposals. Applicants to the call wishing to meet face-to-face will be able to take part in an interactive in-person event bringing together CBE JU staff, representatives from the European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium, as well as other funding programme experts. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with fellow applicants, exchange ideas, discuss collaboration opportunities and take part in dedicated training sessions. 

Address of the event location: Track Brussels, Brussels Nord, Rue du Progrès 76, 1030 Schaerbeek

Alongside the matchmaking activities, a series of parallel training sessions will be organised to support different applicant profiles and help improve the quality and competitiveness of proposals submitted to the CBE JU 2026 call.

  • Training for widening participants: a targeted session for applicants from widening countries, aimed at increasing participation in the CBE JU programme
    • 10: 00 – 10:10: Intro (Luisa Mascia, CBE JU, and Anna Hapek-Sikora, WIDERA.Net)
    • 10:10 – 10:40: Training session: focus on IAs and Coordinators’ role (Oliver Zobell, CBE JU)
    • 10:40 – 10:50: Value of becoming a BIC member (Samuele Ambrosetti, BIC)
    • 10:50 – 11:10 Testimonials 
      • Vasilis Stenos, SOLMEYEA (EL)
      • Bor Klancnik, ACIES BIO (SI)
      • Maria Joao Fernandez, NCP (PT)
    • 11:10 – 11:30 Q&A & conclusions
       
  • Training for SMEs: practical advice on building strong business cases and bankable projects
    • 11:30 – 11:40: Introduction on training objective (Virginia Puzzolo, CBE JU HoP)
    • 11:40 – 12:00: CBE JU: requirements on business case and model (Monica Padella, CBE JU PO)
    • 12:00 – 12:20: Testimonial from successful DEMO projects (Laura Monteiro, A4F Algae for future)
    • 12:20 – 12:40: ECBF: requirements for being ‘venture capital ready’ (Michael Brandkamp, General Partner ECBF)
    • 12:40 – 13:00: Q&A with participants 
       
  • Training on Flagship: guidance on preparing high-quality Flagship proposals
    • 14:30 – 14:40: Welcome & introduction
    • 14:40 – 15:20: Testimonials of flagship project coordinators:, recommendations for a successful flagship project proposal (Speakers: Ed de Jong  (Avantium), José María Pinilla  (Natac) and Craig Johnston (Enough))
    • 15:20 – 15:50: BIC: most frequent challenges and risks during flagship implementation (Speaker: Samuele Ambrosetti)
    • 15:50 – 16:00: Q&A

The deadline for registration is 14 April 2026. Register for the event

Apply for a travel grant to attend the event

Participants from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain – Canary Islands, Tunisia and Türkiye can apply for a travel grant via the NCP_WIDERA.NET project, on the condition that they have a fully completed profile on the CBE JU networking platform and a list of scheduled meetings for the event day. Take a look at the project's website for more information.

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