That’s a wrap on EU TalentOn 2026! We are happy to unveil the 12 award-winning teams from this year’s edition, taking place September 7–11 in Brest, France.

After a week of ideation, prototyping and pitching in Brest, our young European researchers have crossed the finish line last Friday. From late-night brainstorms to nerve-wracking pitches in front of our jury of experts, every team gave it everything they had. Find out more about the winners below:

• Grand Jury Prize – RhizoSentinel – Felipe Quiroz, Natasha Waris, Ilaria Bertolini, Victoria Boycheva: Turning plants into living soil biosensors that reveal hidden soil biological threats before they cause crop losses, enabling earlier intervention and smarter soil management
• Alumni Award – Colospy – Marion Le Meur, Narjes Yazdi, Suresh Ajmeera, Alberto Galindo Caballero: A rapid, saliva-based molecular test detecting colorectal-cancer-miRNA signature, designed as a stool-free screening option.

• 1^st Prize – IMPRREST  – Alejandro Roman, Marie Johanna Univer, Edoardo Kimani Bellotto, Florin Miron: From big data to decisions in minutes, PRREST gives responders one verified assessment of climate emergencies and evidence for adaptation.
• 2^nd Prize – Old Timers  – Alexandros Georgios Asvestas, Andrea Briones, Carlos Cabanzo, Ivan Werthmamm: Guardian gives vulnerable people an alternative way to receive critical climate warnings when conventional channels fail.

• 1^st Prize – CogniVoice – Xhilda Dhamo, Oliwia Kosecka, Jafar Gura: A patient-centred speech monitoring platform for post-treatment surveillance of Brain Cancer.
• 2^nd Prize – GripToLab – Ava Chan, Nikolina Tomic, Tulu Tefera Habte, Salome Abuladze: Gripto turns a daily squeeze into an early warning for cancer-related muscle loss, before you can feel it.

• 1^st Prize – Mission PFASsible – Gabriel Tejero,Siddhanth Shishodia, Dominika Czekanowska, Gjylije Hoti: Mission: PFASsible turns pollution removal into verified risk reduction: sensing, capturing, concentrating, and proving water safety.
• 2^nd Prize –  CHARisma – Mariarosaria Morelli, Myrto Foteini Touloupi, Beyza Özerdem, Abdullah Buğra Şenol: From aquaculture waste to the next generation of marine coatings.

• 1^st Prize – Block2City – Lucia Petronio, Samar Momin, Samira Huber, Imen, Kaabachi: Block2City turns building data into renovation choices, funding guidance and expert handoff, while helping cities map local demand.
• 2^nd Prize – LIFE2 – Rahmandhika Firdauzha Hary Hernandha, Nejc Klopcic, Maria Ruxandra Cojocaru, Gabor Pasztor: LIFE2 turns second-life batteries into transparent and valuable energy assets by matching verified battery supply with the storage demand.

• 1^st Prize – RhizoSentinel – Natasha Waris, Ilaria Bertolini, Felipe Quiroz, Victoria Boycheva: Turning plants into living soil biosensors that reveal hidden soil biological threats before they cause crop losses, enabling earlier intervention and smarter soil management.
• 2^nd Prize –  FIREBACK – Humberto Castillo Gonzalez, Giuseppe De Giorgio, Swagatika Dash, Susana Zapata García: Regenerating Post-Fire Landscapes.