The EIT and KICs

The European Institute of Innovation and Technolgoy (EIT), part of the Lisbon Strategy for employment and growth, was founded to boost the innovation performance of Europe. Established in March 2008, the EIT aims to considerably improve the European innovation performance by improving the integration of innovation, education and research in the knowledge triangle.

The Netherlands in the knowledge and innovation communities

The knowledge and innovation communities (KICs) are "webs of excellence" within the EIT, consortia of European universities, research institutes, companies and other parties involved in innovation. The first three designated KICs, selected on the basis of leadership and excellence, were announced in December 2009. Dutch research universities are prominently involved in all three KICs, selected from 20 applications, making the Netherlands one of the few countries to be represented in all selected KICs.

The three KICs and the participating Dutch research universities are:

• Climate-KIC:
  Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University and Research Centre
• EIT ICT Labs:
  University of Twente, Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology
• Sustainable Energy:
  Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Groningen (via the Energy Delta Institute)

These universities also have collaborative ties with other Dutch research universities on the topics of the KICs.