The INCENTIVE consortium represents a true partnership between Indian and European/US groups to address the global health and the economic challenge posed by influenza infections. INCENTIVE’s strategic goals are to provide seminal knowledge on the underlying mechanisms of poor responsiveness to influenza vaccines in vulnerable individuals and advance the development of two next-generation universal influenza vaccines. As a data science partner in INCENTIVE, we strengthen the partnership between India and European partners through exchanges of the state-of-the-art technology and methodology for vaccine research. INCENTIVE’s goal of better preparing the international community for future pandemics becomes highly relevant in the current COVID19 pandemic.