ELPIS – Lead the Biorevolution across Life Science

World-class faculty and speakers: You will learn directly from DTU professors, industry leaders and tech entrepreneurs at the forefront of the bioeconomy innovation.

Powerful ecosystem cases and excursions: Explore a wide range of innovative cases drawn from DTU and its vibrant ecosystem – including site visits to key players driving sustainable technology and entrepreneurship. 

Applied executive learning: Take part in interactive workshops, masterclasses live case studies and peer discussions to strengthen your personal leadership and competences for leading innovation.

A leadership for industrial science toolbox: We provide you with a set of tangible ready-to-use methodologies including “The market opportunity navigator”, and “The Entrepreneurial Leadership Compass”.

Influential decision makers: In the course you will engage with a series of decision makers from across Danish industry and science as well as European interest organizations.

Powerful networking: Build new relationships with like-minded leaders and experts from across Europe – people who, like you, want to shape the future and unlock new possibilities for innovation and market-growth.

Ongoing sparring: After the course, become part of a growing European network supported by Europe´s top technical universities. Through the EuroTeQ Alliance, you will get access to a unique platform for continued learning and collaboration – across leading campuses like TUM in Munich, EPFL in Lausanne, l’X and HEC business school in Paris, TU/e in Eindhoven, TalTech in Tallinn, CTU in Prague, and DTU in Greater Copenhagen.

Are you ready to question the status quo? To combine your deep expertise and many years of experience in a specialized field or domain with the input of university experts and peers from other industries to formulate bold proposals for the convergence of technologies and the benefit of your company?

We invite you on an exceptional executive journey to explore current stakes and horizons in the development of technologies learning from leading life science companies and experts with top academics and peers. A journey where participants will discuss significant inflection points and opportunities in their field.

Certificate

After completing the course, you will receive an executive certificate of participation from DTU.

• A strategic understanding of Life Science and Biosolutions Innovation

Build a multidimensional view of life sciences and the technologies driving progress -from groundbreaking interdisciplinary research to actionable insights from industry.

• Become knowledgeable about the critical technologies converging across life sciences

Learn how key technologies like biosolutions, AI, advanced materials, machine learning and biotechnology are accelerating innovation across life sciences – and how to harness them in your own context.

• Experience successful entrepreneurship in life science and biosolutions in action

Gain exposure to real-life innovation ecosystems from student incubators to deep-tech spinouts. See how startups and scaleups are reshaping industries – and what you and your company can learn from them.

• Lead at the intersection of innovation and industrial science

Strengthen your ability to champion the critical technology agenda within your organization. Understand what it takes to lead change across professional fields and align innovation with long-term company strategy.

• Spot and shape the right opportunities for lifting development through technology

Use peer discussions and research insights to reflect on your company’s core strengths, explore new hypotheses and identify future-forward opportunities.

• Qualify, prioritize and invest in entrepreneurship with confidence

Understand how to assess business models, skillsets, and innovation ecosystems including investment opportunities -drawing inspiration from successful startups and long-term industrial initiatives.

• Drive Impact in your field and company beyond the course

Learn how to influence corporate strategy and public policy. Build your capability to lead innovation, attract resources and drive long-term transformation.

Over 4 immersive days, you will:

• Get the strategic clarity and mindset you need to understand how bio-based solutions have become economically competitive – and how you can leverage this to boost your bottom line ✔
• Learn from the best through masterclasses led by DTU’s top scientists and industry collaborators. You will see (understand) how technologies like AI, chemical engineering and bio-manufacturing are reshaping what is possible in product development and industrial processes ✔
• Experience innovation firsthand through curated excursions to cutting-edge hubs such as Alfa Laval Innovation House, DTU Skylab, and the BioInnovation Institute. You’ll see how leading companies are already succeeding with sustainable innovation -and how you can apply these lessons within your own organization ✔
• Develop future-ready leadership skills so you return to your organization equipped to identify and prioritize the most relevant converging technologies -and use them to design better, more sustainable and commercially attractive products and services ✔
• Strengthen your executive presence through peer exercises that focus on interdisciplinary communication skills ✔
• Expand your personal leadership capacity by connecting with visionary scientists, startup founders, and fellow innovation leaders ✔
• Gain real-world, actionable insights that challenge and inspire your thinking ✔
• Learn how to thrive at the intersection of sustainability, innovation and technology leading new developments with confidence ✔

We invite the following to apply for the ELPIS program and individual modules/courses:

The participants in our ELPIS programme modules will be an interdisciplinary group of 15-20 selected professionals across engineering, STEM and business.

Engineering professionals, STEM specialists and diverse business generalists in a mid- to high-level career role covering both R&D, tech expertise, and marketing and sales roles responsible for driving innovation, discovering new products, services and explore new avenues for convergence of technology across disciplines and industries to strengthen the competitiveness of their company. 

Example job titles of potential participants  

• Senior R&D Specialist, Head of R&D, Lead Scientist 

• Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Head of specific IT or Tech areas, Head of Data Management 

• Director of Product, Product Development Manager, Head of Marketing, Head of Sales 

• Founder of a tech startup, Head of a university spinout, Head of a Research Section at university 

In their current positions 

Participants should play a crucial role in fostering and leading industrial research, business development and innovation, driving technological advancements, and maintaining or strengthening their companies’ competitive edge. As a key leader or responsible in their field, they’re responsible for identifying strategies to secure the future growth of both their domain and organization. They could also be drivers of marketing and sales, requiring them to examine research and technology more in depth, understanding the drivers and prerequisites for new developments.  

Access requirements

You can have a solid STEM background from either university or industry research, or many years of experience within an engineering and tech heavy industry. But you could also be a trained business or marketing team leaderor manager with non-STEM background but working closely with STEM colleagues within technology driven solutions, R&D and innovation, and see a need to upskill to be able to work more effectively with leadership for industrial science.  

You should have a good overall understanding of the technologies and the research areas relevant to your business area. You should also be eager to broaden your perspective beyond your own discipline, professional background and industry, wishing to explore trends across sectors and technologies, and interested in collaborating with participants in an interdisciplinary manner to discover the next major opportunities in business innovation and how critical technologies are shaping the future of your industry or product. 

A master’s degree in engineering or business, preferably with a PhD and research experience in academia (Post.doc level) or industry is preferred. An endorsement from a member of your executive management would be advantageous, as it supports the time commitment needed for on-site training.

This course is just the beginning. By attending, you will join a European community of practice across industries and the best technical universities in Europe with deep experts from the following fields: advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, life-science technologies, micro/nano-electronics and photonics, AI, security, and e-connectivity.

Read more about EuroTeQ here: I am a Professional Learner – EuroteQ and in the top menu, under “ELPIS Programme”.

The EuroTeQ University Alliance offers standalone executive courses that will eventually form a full Executive Certificate Program ELPIS consisting of a Leadership for Industrial Science: A Premier Leadership Programme for European Innovation – Efteruddannelse og kurser fra DTU Learn for Life module and 3 tech modules wrapped up by a Capstone Project.

Join our leadership for industrial science course at DTU:

3-6 November 2025: ELPIS – Leading Industrial Science

Join the following tech course at TUM in Munich:

9-12 December 2025: Advanced Manufacturing – Insights into critical technologies 

20-24 January 2026: Applied AI in technical innovation – TU München

We have developed a novel approach specifically for the senior specialist to drive scientific leadership.
The novel pedagogy for the ELPIS program consists of:

• A science leadership mindset, rooted in the language of science, and promoting specific attitudes and mindsets, such as curiosity, questioning one’s assumptions, evidence-based rigor, combinatorial approaches, communicating the complex in simple terms, humor and optimism.
• An opportunity creation process, reflected in the sequence of activities during each and across all modules, from uncovering industry or technology inflection points to generating provocative insights, turning insights into opportunities, calibrating and experimenting to refine the opportunities, and aligning opportunities with the innovation agenda,
• A careful mix of activities to “walk the talk”, including keynotes and presentations, live cases, workshops, peer learning, networking events and exercises on influence/partnering, aiming to create or refine actual opportunities for your company.