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EUROPE — The European Institute of Innovation and Technology is accepting applications for the seventh cohort of its VC Academy, a free online programme for women building early careers in venture capital and startup investment.
Applications close on 20 September 2026 at 23:59 Central European Summer Time. The programme runs from 7 October to 25 November and requires approximately five hours each week.
EIT Community Supernovas is delivering the academy with BackFund. The curriculum covers startup assessment, due diligence, financial modelling, valuation, cap tables, term sheets, deal structuring and exit planning.
Those subjects matter because representation in venture capital is not only about entering the industry. Investment authority depends on the ability to test assumptions, negotiate protections and defend a decision before partners or an investment committee.
The programme is designed for early-career women already working in venture, corporate venture, angel investment, startup-investment teams or related innovation roles. Candidates should compare their experience with the official form rather than assume that general interest in entrepreneurship is sufficient.
Sessions are live and online. That removes travel costs but creates a real scheduling obligation. Applicants should reserve time for classes, practical work and networking across the full six weeks.
Selected participants receive an EIT certificate and access to mentors and a European network of women investors. The academy does not advertise a stipend, salary or investment capital for a participant’s own company; it should not be presented as a founder grant.
A strong application should explain the deals or sectors the candidate currently encounters, which technical skill she needs to strengthen and how greater decision-making responsibility fits her role. Specific examples will be more useful than broad statements about passion for startups.
Applicants should also examine whether their employer will protect the required time and permit discussion of anonymised investment cases. Confidential company information should never be placed in training exercises without authorisation.
The programme’s longer-term value should be measured through responsibility, not attendance: women promoted to lead deals, join investment committees, become partners and control larger pools of capital.
Venture initiatives often train women founders to become better recipients of finance. This academy addresses the other side of the transaction by increasing the number of women capable of allocating it.
Deadline: 20 September 2026, 23:59 CEST.
Format: Live online, 7 October–25 November; approximately five hours weekly.
Cost: Free of charge.
Source Check: European Institute of Innovation and Technology, 25 August 2026; EIT Community Supernovas programme page, accessed 2 September 2026; EIT Community announcement, accessed 2 September 2026.
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