WINGS

The WINGS project addresses the persistent innovation gap between WIDENING countries and the EU average by strengthening the capacity of Knowledge/Technology Transfer Offices (KTOs/TTOs) and fostering knowledge valorisation (KV) across research-performing organisations (RPOs). Despite significant investment in R&D, WIDENING countries continue to face challenges in converting research results into economic and societal value due to a lack relevant KT skills and externally facing services, limited engagement of students and researchers, and a lack of modern metrics to incentivise and reward broader impacts. WINGS tackles these barriers through four interlinked work packages. First, it will build capacity in KTOs by assessing needs, recruiting mentors and coaches, and delivering two capacity-building cohorts to strengthen skills in detecting market and societal opportunities. Second, it will identify and pilot transferable core KT services, supported by service champions, peer-to-peer learning and good practice examples with transfer paths. Third, it will develop and roll out a KT curriculum for students and researchers, aligned with EU skills and competencies frameworks, delivered through train-the-trainer programmes and piloted across WIDENING RPOs. Finally, WINGS will promote the practical adoption of modern KPI systems that incentivise knowledge valorisation for both economic and societal impact. By combining KT capacity building, service innovation, curriculum development, and policy reform, WINGS will enable WIDENING RPOs to professionalise their KTOs, foster stronger stakeholder engagement, strengthen their ecosystems, cascade learning and mainstream KT education. This will accelerate knowledge transfer, reduce disparities with non-WIDENING countries, and unlock untapped R&I potential, thereby supporting the EU’s competitiveness, resilience, and progress towards the green and digital transitions.