The EARTO Annual Conference 2026 will take place on the 10th of June 2026 from 09:00 to 15:35 CET. It will bring together EU policymakers, industry leaders and RTOs’ executives to discuss how Europe can accelerate technology scale-up, strengthen its industrial base and reinforce technological leadership. Through high-level exchanges and concrete examples, the conference will highlight the role of RTOs as essential delivery actors of Europe’s innovation and competitiveness agenda.
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10:00 - 12:00
Imec Cleanroom Visit
Hosted by Imec in Leuven
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12:00 - 13:30
Joint EARTO Executive Board & RIN Lunch (Open to EARTO Board and RIN Members only)
Hosted by imec in Leuven
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13:30 - 16:00
Joint Meeting - EARTO Executive Board & RIN CEOs (Open to EARTO Board and RIN Members only)
Hosted by imec in Leuven
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19:00 - 22:00
Joint Dinner - EARTO Executive Board & RIN CEOs (Open to EARTO Board and RIN Members only)
Hosted by VITO in Brussels
Speeches by:
• Inge Neven, CEO, VITO
• Jesus Valero, President, EARTO
• Stephen Su, Chair, RIN
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08:30 - 09:00
Welcome Coffee
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09:00 - 10:00
Introduction
Welcome speeches by:
• Jesus Valero, President, EARTO
• Inge Neven, CEO, VITO
• Luc Van den hove, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Imec
Keynotes by:
• Eléonore Simonet, Federal Minister of the Middle Class, Self-employed and SMEs & Member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region
• Simon Gheysen, Chief of Staff of Cabinet of Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President and Minister of innovation, Flemish Parliament
• Bruno Tobback, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
• Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
• Bernard Magenhann, Director General, DG Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Speakers: Bernard Magenhann
Bruno Tobback
Eléonore Simonet
Henna Virkkunen
Inge Neven
Jesus Valero
Luc Van den hove
Simon Gheysen
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10:00 - 10:15
Coffee Break
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10:15 - 11:30
RTOs, Industry and Europe’s Technological Sovereignty
Keynote:
• Alexandr Hobza, Cabinet Expert, Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné – Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
• Anthony Gooch Gálvez, Secretary General, ERT
• Gilles Requena, Chief Patent Research and Policy Officer, EPOPanel/Discussion RTOs:
• Bruno Feignier, Deputy CEO, CEA
• Luc Van den hove, Chairman of the Board of Directors, IMEC
• Katherine Bennett, CEO, HVM Catapult
Moderated by Jesus Valero, President, EARTO
Speakers: Alexandr Hobza
Anthony Gooch Gálvez
Bruno Feignier
Gilles Requena
Jesus Valero
Katherine Bennett
Luc Van den hove
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11:30 - 12:00
EARTO Innovation Awards Ceremony
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12:00 - 13:30
Networking Lunch
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13:30 - 14:00
Keynote Speech by Christian Ehler, Member of the European Parliament
Speakers: Christian Ehler
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14:00 - 14:30
Imec Session – The Role of RTOs in supporting Industry in scaling up Tech
Keynotes:
• Pierre Chastenet, Head of Unit, Microelectronics and Photonics Industry, DG CONNECT, European Commission
• Patrick Bressler, Director International Cooperation, Emerging Technologies and Innovation, Fraunhofer
• Bruno Paing, Vice-President Europe & International Public Affairs, CEA-Leti
Moderated by Alexandre Vandermeersch, CEO, Multitel & Anne Van den Bosch, Vice-President Public R&D Policies & Programmes, Imec
Speakers: Alexandre Vandermeersch
Anne Van den Bosch
Bruno Paing
Patrick Bressler
Pierre Chastenet
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14:30 - 15:00
VITO Session – The Role of RTOs in de-risking Technologies for Deep-tech Startups
Introduction by Nils Wuytens, Head of Incubation and Acceleration, VITO
Panel Discussion:
• Michiel Scheffer, Chairman of the Board, European Innovation Council (EIC)
• Kalle Härkki, President and CEO, VTT
• Jekaterina Novikova, Deputy Head of Unit, Innovation Policy and Access to Finance, DG R&I, European Commission
Moderated by Koen Maertens, CTO, Flanders Make
Speakers: Jekaterina Novikova
Kalle Härkki
Koen Maertens
Michiel Scheffer
Nils Wuytens
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15:00 - 15:30
Keynote Speech by Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups and R&I, European Commission
Speakers: Ekaterina Zaharieva
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15:30 - 15:35
Closing by EARTO President
Speakers: Jesus Valero