EIC Accelerator interview: dates, format and how to prepare

EIC Accelerator jury interview: 45 minutes (10 pitch, 35 Q&A), tentative 2026-27 session dates, who is invited, GO/NO GO and how to prepare.

The EIC Accelerator interview is a 45-minute session with the EIC Jury: up to 10 minutes of pitch, then up to 35 minutes of questions, with no pre-set questions. Only companies whose full proposal scored at least 13/15 and ranked high enough are invited. As of October 2026, the 2026 sessions are 18–22 May, 19–24 October and 15–19 February 2027, and the last two cut-offs of the year (2 September and 4 November) both lead to the February 2027 session.

This guide covers who gets invited, the dates, the format, how the jury decides and how to prepare. For the application steps that come before it, see our step-by-step EIC Accelerator application guide.

Where the interview sits in the process

The Accelerator has two submission stages and two interviews, which people often confuse. According to the Guide for Applicants (version 6.0, November 2025), the order is:

Short proposal. Can be submitted at any time and is batched monthly, with a reply in about 4–6 weeks.
Full proposal. Batched on fixed dates. About 3–4 weeks after the batching date you have an online interview with a technology expert, who checks claims against third-party sources. Results arrive about 8–9 weeks after batching.
Jury interview. The one this page is about. It is only for the top-ranked full proposals.
Investment decision and grant agreement for those that receive a GO.

The technology-expert call is not the jury interview. It is a one-hour online session during the full-proposal evaluation, and a maximum of three people from your side can join.

Who is invited to the jury interview

Full proposals are scored from 0 to 5 on each of the three award criteria: excellence, impact, and level of risk, implementation and need for Union support. The guide sets a minimum of 4/5 per criterion and 13/15 overall to be considered for interview. Meeting the threshold does not guarantee an invitation: the evaluation panel ranks proposals, and those corresponding to roughly 2.5 times the available grant budget go to the jury.

Proposals above 13/15 that are not invited receive a Seal of Excellence. If you are invited, the reply to your full proposal, sent about 8–9 weeks after the batching date, carries the invitation information.

Interview dates in 2026 and early 2027

The EIC runs three interview sessions a year, one after every second batch. The tentative calendar in the Commission's Work Programme 2026 amendment info-day slides (June 2026) pairs them as follows.

Session 1, 18–22 May 2026: for the 7 January and 4 March batches.
Session 2, 19–24 October 2026: for the 6 May and 8 July batches.
Session 3, 15–19 February 2027: for the 2 September and 4 November batches.

The same slides give indicative timing for invitations to session 3: the beginning of November for the 2 September batch, and the beginning of January for the 4 November batch. Batching is at 17:00 Brussels time, as confirmed on the EIC Accelerator programme page.

These dates are described as tentative. The guide says exact dates are communicated on the EIC website, and your invitation letter fixes the time for your company. Interview times cannot be changed, so keep the whole interview week free for your founders after every cut-off. Some third-party pages still list older autumn or winter dates; use only the EIC's own calendar.

Format: what happens in the room

Length: no longer than 45 minutes: 10 minutes maximum of presentation, then 35 minutes maximum of Q&A.
Language: English.
Panel: a maximum of six Jury members. EIC Programme Managers and EIC Fund representatives may attend and ask questions but do not vote. You receive the names of your panel before the interview.
Your side: up to three representatives. The EIC FAQ says they must be employed staff, board members or investors, and consultants or other third parties may not take part.
Slides: the pitch is supported by the pitch deck you submitted with the full proposal.
Costs: travel to Brussels is not reimbursed.

On location, the sources differ slightly. The Guide for Applicants and the info-day slides describe face-to-face interviews in Brussels, while the FAQ and the EIC's tips page mention remote or online interviews. Treat the invitation letter, sent about three weeks before the session according to the guide, as the authority for your session. The EIC's tips page says at least two weeks' notice.

How the jury decides

After you leave, the Jury votes and the final decision is a consensus. The outcome is binary: GO (recommended for funding) or NO GO. The jury writes the Evaluation Summary Report with its comments.

Three details from the guide matter for preparation:

The jury sees the remote evaluation results of your full proposal, but not your short proposal or any earlier submissions.
It can focus on any part of the proposal, based on the remote evaluation and its own assessment.
It does not change the amount requested for the investment component or the form of support. If activities above TRL 8 are found, it may lower the grant amount. If TRL is unfamiliar, read our TRL explainer.

Outcomes and what comes next

You are told the result roughly two to three weeks after the interview session ends: the Guide for Applicants says about three weeks, the EIC programme page says within two to three.

GO: you are invited to sign the grant agreement, which includes a first pre-financing payment. If you requested equity, the EIC Fund starts negotiating the investment agreement in parallel.
NO GO: you normally receive a Seal of Excellence, which can support applications for other funding and access to EIC Business Acceleration Services. It only works if you ticked the data-sharing consent box when you applied.

Redress is limited to procedural errors, not the scientific or technical judgement. As of October 2026, an applicant that has three unsuccessful submissions to the Accelerator, at any stage and for any form of support, cannot apply again under Horizon Europe. A rejection at interview counts as one; withdrawing before a result does not.

How to prepare

Build the pitch around the three criteria

The jury scores against excellence, impact and risk, implementation and need for EU support. Give each a clear place in ten minutes: what is new and at which TRL (the innovation must have completed TRL 5, and the funded work covers TRL 6–8), how large the market and your revenue and job projections are, and why private investors will not fund this alone. The EIC's tips for applicants list what evaluators look for under each.

Keep the deck short enough to speak

The deck is the one you submitted, so its structure should fit ten minutes. Flag anything that changed since submission, such as new customers, funding or test results, at the start. The FAQ says significant changes should be highlighted to the jury.

Rehearse the Q&A, not just the talk

Thirty-five of the 45 minutes are questions, and none are pre-set. Prepare for the weak points in your own remote evaluation report: the jury has read it. Decide in advance which of your three people answers technology, market and finance questions, and keep all three on the company payroll or board.

Be consistent with what you submitted

The EIC says misrepresentation found during or after the interview can lead to rejection. Numbers in the room should match the written proposal.

For wider context on founders and startups in the region, browse Startups and Founders, or the conference listings for events where you can meet other applicants.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the EIC Accelerator interview?

It lasts no longer than 45 minutes. That is up to 10 minutes of pitch and up to 35 minutes of questions from the jury.

When are the EIC Accelerator interviews in 2026?

The tentative sessions are 18–22 May, 19–24 October 2026 and 15–19 February 2027. As of October 2026, companies from the 2 September and 4 November batches are expected at the February 2027 session.

How many people can attend the EIC Accelerator interview?

Up to three representatives. They must be employees, board members or investors, and consultants are not allowed.

What happens if the jury says NO GO?

You normally receive a Seal of Excellence and a rejection letter. The interview counts as one unsuccessful application toward the limit of three under Horizon Europe.

When do I get the result after the interview?

Roughly two to three weeks after the end of the interview session. The Guide for Applicants says about three weeks, and the EIC programme page says within two to three weeks.