UniLab

09/05/2026

⏳ Last chance to apply!

Your idea deserves more than just a notebook or a lab - it deserves a future.

Venture Catalysts is your chance to turn innovation into real-world impact. In just 5 weeks, you’ll gain the skills, mentorship, and network needed to bring your idea closer to market.

🚀 Don’t miss the opportunity to:
- Work with experienced mentors
- Build a strong, market-ready concept
- Connect with like-minded innovators
- Take your first steps toward launching a startup

Time is running out but there’s still a chance to take that leap.

👉 Apply now and secure your spot: https://liaa.business.gov.lv/en/event/training-program-venture-catalysts-1

The program is supported by the ERDF project “Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship of SMEs”.

08/05/2026

During Cluster 4, our NATO DIANA teams visited the Eastern Border. On our way there, we stopped in RTU - Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte (Riga Technical University) Rezekne Academy to have a sales strategy workshop with Airbus Defence and Space - Caroline Sevier, Joseph Bray, Naomi P. Bellomo, PMP, Harriet Pretty,Bertrand Levivier, Addi Faiz Adnan, Otto Gies.

Airbus Defence team led a blended sales strategy workshop that combined presentations, case studies, exercises, and 1-to-1 coaching.

Experienced speakers from different parts of the sales and campaign
cycle joined on-site and online. We exchanged with best practices and experiences, dedicated time for focused 1-to-1 advisory sessions as well as built and strengthened new links with the cohort.

🤝 Special thanks to Adam Poirier from Multinational Division North, who handled all the hard organizing to make our trip to the Eastern Border possible.

07/05/2026

Defence isn’t a regular market. Governments don’t optimize for profit. Procurement isn’t flexible. Every decision is accountable, auditable, and often political. How to negotiate?

Daniels Pavluts led our NATO DIANA teams through:
- Multi-stakeholder mapping
- Operating within regulatory constraints
- Handling procedural resistance without losing momentum
- Staying assertive while protecting long-term credibility

During Cluster 4, we also brought in the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) perspective by Joel N.. We explored how companies can move from idea to validation and later to deployment in defense environments. Special thanks to Shield AI and James L. as well as Latvijas Mobilais Telefons and Niklāvs Lejietis for the contribution and covering such topics as operational exercises and experimantation in real environment.

06/05/2026

🌟 Meet the minds behind Venture Catalysts

At the heart of every breakthrough idea is someone who helps shape it.

Meet Ella Kalniņa - mentor, innovation expert, and one of the driving forces behind Venture Catalysts. With a passion for deep tech and entrepreneurship, she supports researchers and founders in transforming complex ideas into real-world impact.

Through her guidance, participants learn how to evaluate their technologies, understand their market potential, and take confident steps toward building successful startups.

Programs like Venture Catalysts aren’t just about knowledge, they’re about people. And mentors like Ella are what make the journey truly transformative.

🚀 Ready to learn from experts who’ve been there and done it?

Join Venture Catalysts now: https://liaa.business.gov.lv/en/event/training-program-venture-catalysts-1

The program is supported by the ERDF project “Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship of SMEs”.

06/05/2026

🚀 See you at Deep Tech Atelier 2026!

On May 14 - 15, one of the leading deep tech events in the Baltics - Deep Tech Atelier - will take place in Riga.

📍 On May 14 from 10:00 to 18:00, we invite you to visit the Expo / Demo area, where UniLab will have its own booth.

There, you’ll have the chance to meet our teams showcasing their prototypes and solutions:
Spruceful, SUBmerge Baltic, Bdetect, Adventum Tech, Optometristi, G-HOST

It’s a great opportunity to:
– discover what’s being built in the Latvian deep tech ecosystem
– connect with teams
– explore collaboration or investment opportunities
– get inspired by innovative ideas

🤝 If you're interested in innovation, science, and entrepreneurship - this is the place to be.

Come visit the UniLab booth and meet the teams in person!

🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g8ZciaxE

04/05/2026

On May 4, Latvia marks the restoration of its independence - a moment that set the path toward full freedom regained in 1991 🇱🇻

At UniLab, this day is more than a date in history. It’s a reminder of what independence truly means - and why it must be protected.

Every day, through our work in UniLab Defence, we contribute to strengthening the security, resilience, and freedom we believe in.

28/04/2026

What can your enemy tell about your company from the information available only publicly on the internet? Apparently a lot 🧐

At some point, defence tech innovators might become a valuable target, so you’d better be ready. This is what Gregory L. and Huw Thomas-Coter challenged our batch of NATO DIANA teams to do - find ways in which they can be attacked with the information available to the enemy.

27/04/2026

⏳ Have you applied yet?

Applications for Venture Catalysts are open and this is your chance to turn your idea into something real.

💡 If you’ve been thinking about:

- launching a startup
- finding the right team
- learning how innovation actually becomes a business

…this is your moment.

🚀 In just a few weeks, you’ll gain the skills, network, and confidence to move from idea to impact, guided by experienced mentors and surrounded by like-minded innovators.

🔗 Apply now: https://liaa.business.gov.lv/en/event/training-program-venture-catalysts-1

⚡ Stop waiting and start building.

The program is supported by the ERDF project “Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship of SMEs”.

providing hands-on support to aspiring deep tech entrepreneurs

27/04/2026

🚨 NATO DIANA is seeking high maturity (TRL 7+) Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and related software solutions that will improve NATO’s operational planning and ex*****on through enhanced modeling and simulation, wargaming, and decision-making capabilities.

👆 Solutions selected will augment existing AI-enabled digital warfighting platforms and will be rapidly iterated with NATO stakeholders, building to a demonstration – with the potential for follow-on contracts through DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service.

💰 Selected innovators will receive €100,000 of contractual funding to fulfil the objective of integrating and demonstrating to NATO Allied Command Operations and other NATO stakeholders.

❗ Applications open till May 5 (9am BST)

22/04/2026

🚀 EIT Community Hub Latvia opportunities for startups & innovators across Europe - don’t miss out!

April is packed with valuable EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) opportunities for startups, scaleups, and innovation teams looking to grow and expand across Europe 👇

🌱 Agrifood & scaling
• EIT Food EWA Advance Programme 2026 - support for female-led agrifood startups, up to €20K to accelerate growth
📅 Deadline: 26 April
• EIT Food RisingFoodStars 2026 - recognition and access programme for high-potential agrifood scaleups
📅 Deadline: 30 April
🚗 Urban Mobility
• Strategic Innovation Open Call 2026 - up to €2M for piloting and scaling mobility innovations
📅 Deadline: 18 June
• Financial Support to Startups 2026 - up to €2.5M for mobility startups (pre-seed to Series A)
📅 Deadline: 18 May
🏥 Health & MedTech
• Innovation Validation Call 2026 - up to €850K for AI/digital medical device validation
📅 Deadline: 6 May
• New Models to Deliver Healthcare 2026 - up to €700K for market-ready solutions
📅 Deadline: 6 May
• EIT Health Catapult - training, investor exposure, and prizes up to €30K
🔬 Additional opportunities
• InnoNext Innovation Internships - host funded PhD/postdoc researchers (rolling call)
• 28DIGITAL Venture Incubation Program - incubation + up to €25K for early-stage teams

📅 Deadline: 9 June
💡 Special highlight for research teams & early-stage innovators:
If there are scientists or early-stage innovation teams within UniLab (not yet incorporated or registered in 2026) who want to validate their technology’s market potential at the European level with support from expert mentors, the annual EIT Jumpstarter pre-acceleration programme is currently open.

👉 We especially encourage teams from RTU - Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte (Riga Technical University), Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte (Riga Stradins University), and Latvijas Universitāte LBTU - Latvijas Biozinātņu un tehnoloģiju universitāte Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies to explore this opportunity.

🔗 Explore all EIT open calls: https://lnkd.in/dj7rKXsg
Feel free to share with colleagues, researchers, and startup teams who might benefit!

16/04/2026

Big news - all of our RITA LIVE RIGA applications have been approved this year! 🎉

This includes support for ecosystem events as well as the development of three programs designed to help university innovators build and grow their startups. We’re excited to move forward and bring these initiatives to life together with our partners.

🚨With this great news, we’re now looking for your support. We’re seeking an Entrepreneur in Residence to help guide and mentor founders on this journey. If you have recommendations or contacts, please reach out - your support means a lot!

You can learn more about the program here:
https://lnkd.in/dxfXkezi

Huge thanks to the RITA team, as well as Ieva Felmane and Mārtiņš Pakalniņš for the collaboration so far 🙏

Excited to build this together with our partners - RTU Innovations, Startup House Riga and others involved!