NewsNew forum puts security innovation at the heart of CEPOL’s training
The first Pitch Match Innovation Forum (PIMIF) was organised on 28 January 2026 in cooperation with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME)
Innovation and Security Research Unit. The event took place at the agency’s headquarters in Budapest.
To ensure that security innovation in law enforcement training is translated into sustainable practice, operational impact and long-term European added value, 26 EU-funded projects presented their work and had meaningful interactions with CEPOL’s activity managers and instructional designers. Through targeted matchmaking between projects and training design, PIMIF delivers outcomes that are integrated into the agency’s training content.
For the EU-funded projects, this initiative offers visibility, continuity, and the possibility of a legacy beyond the EU funding cycle. For CEPOL, it represents a concrete step towards systematically integrating EU-funded research and innovation into our training portfolio. For the European Union as a whole, it demonstrates how investment in research can be maximised through coordination, foresight, and shared ownership of results
stated Mailis Pukonen, Acting Executive Director of CEPOL, at the opening of the forum.
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This pilot initiative was the result of nearly two years of careful preparation, strategic reflection, and close coordination between CEPOL and the European Commission, with the aim to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation and align research outputs with real training needs.
EU-funded projects participating in the event:
SafeHorizon, IAMI, PARTESS-COM, GATHERINGS, ForMAT, GANNDALF, CLARUS, VANGUARD, DETECTOR, SALUS, PRESERVE, PRESERVE, NARCOSIS , ENSEMBLE, ARMADILLO, BTL-COP, ARIEN, SALVUS, FALCON, CRYPTOACTION, CEASEFIRE, BEHOLDER, AMALTHEA , ENACT, 2PS, RAYUELA
