How is StandICT.eu supporting the participation of new experts and SMEs in European and international standardisation?

StandICT.eu 2026’s main objective is to is to strengthen the European ICT Standardisation Ecosystem and its international reach while tackling EU priorities, challenges & gaps. The project is directly supporting European standardisation experts in the ICT field through its Fellowship Programme, which is allocating € 2,925,000 in funding over 36 months and through 9 Open Calls.

In addition, the project is committed to support the training the next generation of ICT standardisation experts and their participation in Standards Development Organisations (SDOs), in particular for those with an academic or SME background. Indeed, they are often underrepresented in the standards-making process as they face bigger challenges in terms of financial or human resources, including lacking experience especially when becoming engaged as newcomers.

On November 29^th, StandICT.eu organised a webinar dedicated to providing information on why and, especially, how SMEs and new experts can get involved and even lead the standardisation efforts in the ICT field. The event featured presentations from standardisation experts who are leading the efforts in their fields as Convenors of Technical Committees or Working Groups of European and international Standards Developing Organisations (SDOs). The presentations shared by the speakers are publicly available here.

• Julien Bringer, CEO of KALLISTECH, Co-convenor of ISO/TC307/JWG 4, provided an overview of the main Standards Developing Organisations (SDOs) at EU and international level and how to get involved.

• Christiana Aristidou, Founder and Managing Partner of the Hybrid LawTech Firm, and appointed expert in several WGs of ISO/TC 307, described her long experience in standardisation and highlighted the benefits for organisations that are directly involved.

• Emilia Tantar, Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer at Black Swan LUX & StandICT.eu Fellow, shared her experience as expert in CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 and the latest developments. The focus of the committee is artificial intelligence and, following the AI Act, it has been tasked by the European Commission to design harmonised standards following the legislative requirements.

During the event, the training possibilities and SME-targeted support activities, open calls and resources, offered by the project were further outlined by the StandICT.eu partners.

Specifically, the StandICT.eu Standards Academy provides freely accessible materials to understand ICT standardisation and learn through comprehensive training modules. These are offered for all levels, catering to a wide range of professionals from startups to SMEs, large companies’ government representatives. The Academy also routinely organised tailored webinars to explore standardisation outside the EU and some of them already covered the USA, China and India. The Academy Archive also collects documents capturing the evolution of ICT standards, offering insights, methods, and best practices developed over time, being a practical resource for those interested in the progress and application of ICT standards.

Finally, Stéphane Joret, senior expert consultant in ITSM and ITAM at Liscience, described his experience as a funded Fellow and how he benefitted from taking part in the StandICT.eu Mentorship Programme. The possibility to connect with and discuss with other standardisation experts, especially mentors, helped him to overcome some of the challenges he faced as a project leader for a document that is being drafted at ISO level.

The program pairs new SME experts with experienced fellows, facilitating entry into the standardisation ecosystem. This aims to provide newcomers with practical advice for SDO work, while allowing seasoned professionals to pass on their knowledge, ensuring a robust future for EU standardisation. All applicants can easily join the Mentorship Programme either as mentors or mentees while applying for one of the StandICT.eu Open Calls.

Through its Standards Academy and Mentorship Programme complementing the open calls, StandICT.eu is directly supporting the improvement of the expertise, knowledge and overall skillset of European stakeholders interested in standardisation.