SHIA

Description

Sports and Health Innovation Accelerator

Start Date: January 2026
End Date: December 2028
Duration: 36 months
Budget: €1,500,000
Funding: Erasmus+ Innovation Alliances

Description

Project Summary

SHIA, Sports and Health Innovation Accelerator, is an Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation project designed to foster innovation at the intersection of sport and health. By connecting higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, research centres, startups, industry, and policymakers, the project creates a structured framework that transforms knowledge into market-ready solutions.

Through a validated acceleration methodology based on agile innovation, real world testing, and close collaboration with industry, SHIA supports the development and scaling of new products, services, and business models. A core element of the project is the creation of Sports and Health Innovation Villages, collaborative spaces where startups, researchers, companies, and public authorities co create and test innovative solutions under real conditions.

Project Objectives

SHIA aims to:

  • Strengthen structured cooperation between education, training, research, and industry
  • Equip learners, entrepreneurs, and professionals with innovation and entrepreneurial competences
  • Accelerate the transfer of research results into market ready sport and health solutions
  • Enhance employability and support the creation of new ventures and intrapreneurial initiatives

Project Activities

To reach its goals, SHIA will:

  • Conduct research and needs analysis to define an evidence based acceleration model
  • Develop and implement an innovative education and acceleration methodology
  • Launch and test pilot programmes in different European contexts
  • Establish Sports and Health Innovation Villages as collaborative experimentation hubs
  • Deliver dissemination, networking, and policy engagement actions to ensure sustainability and scalability

By building a strong and collaborative European innovation ecosystem, SHIA contributes to more sustainable, competitive, and digitally driven sport and health sectors across Europe.

Consortium

  • ADESP – Association of Spanish Sports Federations (ES)

  • EPSI – European Platform for Sport Innovation (BE)

  • ECHAlliance – European Connected Health Alliance (IE)

  • iED – Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (EL)

  • AKMI International (EL)

  • Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg (DE)

  • UIIN – University Industry Innovation Network (NL)

  • Charles University – Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (CZ)

  • National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski” (BG)

  • CHESS – Centre for Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences (RS)

  • Sport and Citizenship Think Tank (FR)

  • Center for Systems Innovation (HU)

Affiliated entity

  • Sport & Technology Cluster (NL)

Materials And Publications

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.