On 31 October 2025, the BIOEAST Open Innovation Challenge (OIC) organising team, led by the European Forest Institute, hosted an informative webinar that attracted participants from across Central and Eastern Europe interested in
advancing sustainable bioeconomy solutions.
The one-hour session offered a comprehensive overview of the BIOEAST OIC, including its eight key priority themes, the application and evaluation process, and the prizes available for successful applicants.
Main insights from the event
The webinar began with an introductory presentation by Korinna Varga, from OMKI and coordinator of the BOOST4BIOEAST project, who introduced the BIOEAST Initiative and the project’s goals. This was followed by a presentation of the BIOEAST OIC by Andrea Arancibia from the European Forest Institute. The session concluded with a Q&A segment, where the organising team addressed questions from the audience.
Organisers highlighted the main objective of the BIOEAST OIC, which is to foster innovation and collaboration in tackling bioeconomy challenges in the macro-region. They encouraged researchers, startups, and innovators to submit bold and innovative ideas that can contribute to solve bioeconomy challenges.
The BIOEAST OIC is open for applications until 15 November 2025, welcoming proposals from a wide range of innovators at any stage of development.