NEW! The 7th Call for proposals on Advanced Digital Skills is now open!
A new round of DIGITAL calls for proposals to develop advanced digital skills through bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes and related stand- alone modules focusing on key digital areas is opening soon! The 2004 call provides funding for education programmes in key digital areas: virtual worlds, edge computing, quantum computing, photonics, and robotics and automatization, for interdisciplinary programmes targeted at the acquisition of advanced green digital skills in the specific sectors related to the green transition: agriculture, transport, renewable energy and waste management as well as for the acquisition of advanced digital skills for the government and public sector.
The European Commission opened the 7th Call for proposals on Advanced Digital Skills on 4 July 2024, with a total budget of 55 million EUR. Find more information about the new call on the official Funding and Tender Portal.
DIGITAL Info Day on the 7th Call for proposals - Recording available!
On 5 July 2024 a new Info Day and Pitching Event on the new Call for proposals was organised by the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, where the Commission presented in details the content of the call and answered live all the questions of the participants.
Check out the master slides presented during the event and the presentations of pitching organisations. Missed the online event? Rewatch the recording now available on the DigitalEU Youtube channel!
Work Programmes for 2023-2024 boosting digital skills and supporting cybersecurity
On 24 March 2023 the European Commission has adopted two multiannual work programmes for the DIGITAL Programme. The programmes will receive a total of €1.284 billion in funding, out of which €553 million will be available in 2023 to support digital transformation and enhance cybersecurity.
The Main Work Programme (DIGITAL Europe Work Programme 2023-2024), worth €909.5 million, aims to reinforce the EU's critical digital capacities by focusing on key areas such as climate and environment protection technology, data, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and deployment for the best use of these technologies. Also, it seeks to reinforce skills related to the semiconductor industry and to create a Cybersecurity Skills Academy for reskilling and upskilling purposes.
At this regard, the Commission has also published a specific work programme focusing on cybersecurity, with a budget of €375 million for the period of 2023-2024, to enhance the EU's collective resilience against cyber threats.
About the DIGITAL Europe Programme
Developments in key and emerging technologies are changing the way we define digital skills and the extent to which we depend on technology. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the existing shortage of digital experts in Europe.
The Digital Europe Programme provides strategic funding to answer these challenges and supports the development of a skilled talent pool of digital experts. With a total budget of €580 million for digital skills over 7 years, the Digital Europe Programme enhances cooperation between EU Member States and stakeholders in digital skills and jobs through:
- Specialised education programmes in key digital areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, quantum and High Performance Computing (HPC), provided by networks of higher education institutions, research centres and businesses (€120 million contribution over the first two years of the programme).
- Short-term training courses, tailored to the needs of businesses, with an emphasis on SMEs in Europe, as well as jobseekers and citizens looking to reskill (€25 million contribution over the first two years of the programme).
These actions have 3 common goals:
- Increasing capacity and excellence of EU education and training institutions
- Encouraging cooperation between higher education, research and businesses
- Sparking interest of Europeans in digital careers and attract the best talents.
All the funded projects will be showcased on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform.
Examples of previous funding
Digital Europe Programme does not address these challenges and goals alone, but builds upon successful past EU-funded initiatives, in particular from the Connecting Europe Facility – CEF Digital. With the support of CEF funding, consortia composed of university networks, SMEs and top AI researcher centres designed four new high-quality specialised Master programmes and courses in AI. The aim of these new high-quality training programmes is to bring AI advanced digital skills closer to non-technical people and other professionals.
Find more about the new Master programmes in our dedicated page.
New opportunities and updates
We will continue to update you on the latest on the Digital Europe Programme on this page and on our Twitter and Facebook channels.
By registering to the community and joining our dedicated Partner For DIGITAL Skills Networking Group you will be able to find partners and connect with other organisations wishing to apply for the current open calls in Advanced Digital Skills.
By signing up for the Newsletter you will never miss any updates and important resources on the DIGITAL Europe Programme and other topics.
Keep an eye out on this page for more updates!
DIGITAL Europe Programme past calls and events
If you want to find out more about the calls launched in 2021 and 2022, past events and examples of previous initiatives funded through the DIGITAL Europe Programme, you will find further information on this page.
