IE School of Science & Technology strengthens its role in Europe’s deep tech ecosystem at RISE Europe Scale-Up Day 2025 in Brussels

IE School of Science & Technology participated in the recent RISE Europe Scale-Up Day 2025, a gathering that brought together leading actors from across the continent to strengthen Europe’s deep tech innovation and scale-up capacity. The School joined startup hubs, public institutions, investors, and founders committed to enhancing collaboration and boosting Europe’s competitiveness.

Geoffroy Gérard, Vice Dean of IE School of Science & Technology and Managing Director at IE Foundation, and Leticia Cabral, Executive Director of Business Development and Operations at IEX Impact Xcelerator, participated in discussions and highlighted IE School of Science & Tech’s growing role in shaping cross-border collaboration and driving real-world innovation impact.

As an active member of the RISE Europe network, a European initiative which unites leading start-up ecosystem builders from 14 European countries, the School contributes to practical frameworks that help universities, startups, and policymakers to work together more effectively. This work reflects the School’s mission to accelerate science-driven entrepreneurship and innovation.

A major highlight of the event was a fireside conversation with Andreas Schwarz, Head of Cabinet to Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, and Merete Clausen, Deputy Chief Executive at the European Investment Fund (EIF), followed by remarks from Teresa Czerwińska, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Speakers emphasized the importance of strengthening Europe’s scale-up pathways to boost deep tech leadership, strategic autonomy, and global competitiveness.

Across panels and keynotes, international experts proposed concrete, actionable steps to build a strong pan-European ecosystem, unlock the growth capital our founders need, and boost Europe’s exit pathways. The message resonating throughout the day was clear: Europe has the talent and ambition; now is time to act together and reinforce the continent as the place for deep tech companies to start, scale and stay.

"Our mission to make Europe the best place to start, grow and scale the next global DeepTech champions," they highlighted.

During the event, Geoffroy Gérard presented the RISE Europe Sciencepreneurship Toolkit, showcasing its contribution to empowering science-based entrepreneurs with the skills and methodologies needed to scale research-driven ventures.

"As a network, in RISE Europe we want to build a competitive environment for scaleups to grow and succeed," he noted. "Europe is a champion in scientific production — now we must work together to make it a champion in market deployment."

Prior to the conference, representatives of Rise Europe met with the European Innovation Council (EIC) to deepen the dialogue around the European Startup & Scaleup Strategy in order to coordinate efforts. They also engaged in networking activities with the leadership of the different Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) under the European Institute of Innovation and Technology like 28DIGITAL, EIT Climate, or EIT Food among others.