By Anna Lackner, Founder of Nexuswelt

In short: November 2026 is one of the busiest months of the year for EU research and innovation in Brussels. Horizon Europe info days and brokerage events for the 2027 calls, the European Research & Innovation Days, the Apply AI Summit and HERA Industry Days all take place within four weeks. This guide lists 14 events in Brussels, across Europe and online where coordinators, SMEs and research organisations can find consortium partners, with key dates and who each event is for. Nexuswelt will take part in these events throughout the month.

November 2026 at a glance

Dates and access rules can change; always check the organiser’s page before you travel. In December, the community moves on to EFECS 2026 in Helsinki (2–3 December), the main annual forum for European electronic components and systems.

Why November matters for 2027 proposals

The 2027 Horizon Europe calls belong to the 2026–2027 work programme, and the info days in November are where topics, priorities and evaluation expectations are explained by the people who wrote them. Consortia that form now have months to agree on roles, budgets and impact logic. Those that form in spring usually write Part B before these decisions are made.

The events in this guide cover four areas where partner search is most active this autumn:

• EU funding and R&I policy: EAIC Summit, Research & Innovation Days, Cluster 5 Info Day.
• Semiconductors, AI and digital: Technology Sovereignty workshops, DIGITAL SME Summit, Apply AI Summit.
• International cooperation: Korea–EU forum and EU–Canada summit for partners from countries associated to Horizon Europe, and ReBuild Ukraine for Ukrainian organisations.
• Health and industry: HERA Industry Days, Cluster 1 Health brokerage, MEDICA and ISM brokerage events.

How to get the most out of a brokerage event

Brokerage events reward preparation, not attendance. Based on our experience with consortium building, five steps make the difference:

1. Write a profile with one clear offer and one clear request. “Partner sought for pilot site in Southern Europe” gets meetings; “open to collaboration” does not.
2. Shortlist 5–10 target profiles before the event. Read what they offer and request, and check whether they already coordinate projects.
3. Book meetings in the first days after booking opens. Good profiles fill their slots early, and requests often expire before the event.
4. Bring a one-page project concept. Topic, call, the gap in the consortium, and your role are enough for a first conversation.
5. Follow up within 48 hours. A short note with the next concrete step (a call, a draft concept, a partner introduction) keeps the conversation alive.

Most events in this guide also run online matchmaking on b2match, so you can meet partners even if you cannot travel to Brussels.

Meet Nexuswelt in Brussels

Nexuswelt helps consortia build proposals that evaluators can follow: consortium strategy, impact pathways, communication, dissemination and exploitation. We work with coordinators, startups, SMEs and research organisations across Horizon Europe, Chips JU, Digital Europe and other EU programmes.

If you are preparing a 2027 proposal and need a partner for impact, dissemination or exploitation work packages, let’s talk at one of these events. Email Anna at anna.lackner@nexuswelt.com with the event you are attending and your topic, or connect with Anna Lackner on LinkedIn. On b2match platforms, you can also contact our profile directly.

About the author

Anna Lackner is the founder and managing director of Nexuswelt, a European funding and innovation consultancy with entities in Germany and Cyprus. She has more than ten years of experience in industrial R&D funding and EU collaborative projects, including work in Infineon’s funded-project environment.

Frequently asked questions