The RIS Summit Barcelona 2026 brought together nearly 30 RIS Country Representatives from across Europe for two days of strategic exchange, collaboration and community building under the EIT Urban Mobility Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS).
Hosted in Barcelona on 14 and 15 April, the summit provided a dedicated platform to align on priorities, strengthen regional ecosystems and reinforce the role of RIS in delivering inclusive urban mobility innovation across Europe.
Strategic exchange with EIT Urban Mobility leadership
One of the key moments of the summit was a fireside chat with Marc Rozendal, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, who engaged in an open discussion with Country Representatives on strategic direction, future opportunities and the growing importance of regional engagement within the organisation’s innovation model.
The exchange highlighted the pivotal role of RIS in connecting local ecosystems to European‑level programmes and scaling impact beyond traditional innovation hubs.
Workshops focused on action and collaboration
The programme featured five interactive workshops covering:
- Innovation
- Communication
- Education
- City Club
- Impact Ventures
- Matchmaking with EIT Urban Mobility partners
These sessions enabled participants to share best practices, align approaches and identify concrete opportunities for cross‑country collaboration within the wider EIT Urban Mobility ecosystem.
RIS Impact 2025: results driven by Country Representatives
A dedicated session showcased the RIS Impact Data 2025, highlighting how regional engagement translates into tangible results across all pillars — with Country Representatives playing a central role in delivery.
In Match & Connect, 26 new RIS partners joined the network in 2025, nine of which were directly scouted and funnelled by Country Representatives, confirming their role as key ecosystem connectors.
Under Support to startups 29 new startups were incorporated, with 27 sourced and supported through the direct involvement of Country Representatives. In addition, six startups were awarded support through Innovation and Impact Ventures programmes, strengthening the RIS startup pipeline and investment readiness.
In Education and training, 2,453 professionals were trained across RIS regions, complemented by the award of four new RIS Education projects, further addressing local skills needs in urban mobility.
Within Innovations to market, nine innovations were launched to market, two startups were incorporated from innovation projects, and two new RIS Innovation projects were awarded, reinforcing the pipeline of regionally anchored, market‑ready solutions.
Together, the results underline how RIS transforms local knowledge and engagement into measurable European impact, with Country Representatives acting as catalysts across partnerships, startups, education and innovation.
Recognising excellence across RIS countries
Linked to the impact results, the summit also celebrated outstanding country performance. Croatia, Latvia, Portugal and Romania were recognised for their strong contributions to RIS implementation and impact delivery, showcasing best practices and inspiring peer learning across the network.
Visiting the Barcelona Supercomputing Center
To conclude the summit, participants visited the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), gaining insights into Europe’s advanced capabilities in high‑performance computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence. The visit highlighted the relevance of digital technologies in supporting data‑driven innovation and system modelling for sustainable urban mobility, and their potential to further strengthen RIS impact across regions.
