EDIH Summit 2026: Strengthening the AI Innovation Ecosystem
9-10 June
The SQUARE Brussels Convention Centre
Europe’s AI ambition is expanding. With the AI Act in force, the AI Continent Action Plan adopted and the Apply AI Strategy underway, the policy framework is established. The key question now is whether the ecosystem is functioning effectively: whether SMEs and public administrations can access the right infrastructure, obtain trusted guidance, and progress from initial interest to meaningful AI adoption. This is the central question that this year’s Summit seeks to address.
The EDIH Summit 2026 brings together the full European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) network, EU institutions, Member States, AI infrastructures and innovation actors to examine how Europe’s AI ecosystem functions in practice. Sessions will explore how EDIHs connect organisations with other actors of the EU AI innovation ecosystem such as AI Factories, Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) and regulatory sandboxes; how common tools and assessment frameworks support this work; and how proven approaches can be scaled across regions and sectors. A forward-looking thread runs throughout: as generative and agentic AI reshape what organisations need, how must support structures adapt?
For EDIHs, the Summit provides an opportunity to compare approaches, bring shared challenges to the fore, and identify areas where closer coordination is required. It also offers a timely occasion to reflect on the evolving role of the hubs as AI experience centres, serving not merely as access points, but as active guides within a rapidly changing technological and regulatory landscape. The programme is built around practical exchange and concrete outputs, with space for EDIHs to contribute directly to discussions that will shape the network’s priorities in the year ahead.
Agenda
The final event agenda can be found here.
Timing | Activity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 12:00 | Doors open | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:30-14:00 | Welcome Refreshments and networking Informal networking, allowing participants to connect and begin exchanges ahead of the formal programme | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14:00-14:20 | Welcoming participants Jennifer Baker, Moderator and presenter EDIH Network Summit 2026 welcome Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President and European Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy (Video Message) Intro speech: The New Phase of the EDIH Network Gosia Nikowska, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), European Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14:20-15:00 | Keynote Speech The Future of AI Ulla Kruhse-Lehtonen, Co-Founder, DAIN Studios. Followed by a fireside chat moderated by Jennifer Baker, Moderator and presenter. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15:00-15:35 | EDIH Awards Finalists Showcase Presentation of the jury and the finalists in the run up to the award. Inspiration speech by Olga Shapoval, Executive Director, Eastern Ukraine EDIH (Ukraine) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15:35-16:15 | Coffee Break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16:15-17:30 | Parallel Sessions
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| 17:30-18:20 | EDIH Network Awards 2026 Ceremony Awards presented by: Lucilla Sioli, Director of the EU AI Office, DG CNECT, European Commission Dušan Chrenek, Principal Adviser, Digital for the Green Transition, DG CLIMA, European Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18:20-18:30 | Group Photo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18:30-19:30 | Reception |
Timing | Activity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 08:00-09:00 | Registration & Refreshments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09:00-09:30 | Fireside chat The second day of the EDIH Summit is opened by a cross-institutional dialogue on how EU support ecosystems work together in practice. Speakers: Gosia Nikowska, Head of Unit, DG CNECT, European Commission Crispin Waymouth, Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09:30-10:00 | Panel: EDIH as experience centre for AI Speakers: Lothar Hotz, Coordinator, AI EDIH Hamburg (Germany) Petr Voplakal, Digital Transformation Consultant, EDIH B4I (Czechia) Slavica Tomovic, Assistant Professor, MontEDIH (Montenegro) Gaspard Demur, Deputy Head of Unit, DG CNECT, European Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:00-10:30 | Panel: Trends on agentic AI and how AI is reshaping business models and production During this session, participants will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Agentic AI and how AI changes the way businesses operate. Speakers: Florin Șunel, Vice President, Forward Deployed Engineering, UiPath Katre Eljas, Coordinator, AI&Robotics Estonia, AIRE (Estonia) Manuel Reinsperger, Technology Specialist, DG CNECT, European Commission Jennifer Baker, Moderator and presenter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee Break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:00-12:30 | Parallel Sessions
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| 12:30-14:00 | Lunch Break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14:00-15:30 | Parallel Sessions
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| 15:30-16:00 | Coffee Break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16:00-16:30 | Panel: From Subsidy to Sustainability: How EDIHs Can Attract Paying Clients Speakers: Gosia Nikowska, Head of Unit, European Commission Hedi Karray, Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence, European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency Ger van den Kerkhof, Coordinator, DIGITALIS (Belgium) Katja Mohar Bastar, Coordinador, EDIH DIGI-SI (Slovenia) Jennifer Baker, Moderator and presenter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16:30-16:45 | Key Takeaways and Next Steps for the EDIH Network Gaspard Demur, Deputy Head of Unit, DG CNECT, European Commission |