European Advanced Digital Skills Competitions: Join the discussion and find project partners!

Objective: This topic aims to organise European Advanced Digital Skills Competitions as a flagship initiative to raise awareness of Europe’s digital excellence and inspire new generations of ICT professionals. The competitions will showcase European talent in cutting-edge digital domains such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum Technologies, Virtual Worlds, and Semiconductors, fostering collaboration between education, research, and industry. The initiative seeks to attract more learners to pursue advanced digital careers, increase gender balance in ICT professions, and promote Europe’s leadership in deep tech skills.

The selected project will identify for each competition at least 3 challenges. These challenges will address highly relevant European or local societal, technological, and/or industrial problems and will be developed with the involvement of Europe’s most prestigious research institutions and industry partners. The challenges will differ for each digital area. Different teams of students will compete in each challenge.

1. Reach and communication
   The competitions should attract as many students as possible from education and training institutions, while also engaging research and industry partners. Communication activities must reach a wide audience across EU Member States, EFTA countries, and those associated with the DIGITAL Programme. The ELEVATE project will support communication efforts, including creating a landing page on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform (DSJP) and assisting with branding, events, and promotional materials. The consortium must clearly outline concrete outreach activities, estimated budgets, and strategies to involve industry and research stakeholders who may sponsor technical solutions or adopt innovative outcomes.
2. Geographical scope of the competitions
   All competitions and related physical events must take place in EU Member States and/or countries associated with the DIGITAL Programme. A final physical event in Brussels will showcase and reward the winning teams from the six competitions, with support from ELEVATE.
3. Diversity of the competition
   Each challenge must include several competing student teams, representing at least four different tertiary education institutions from four different eligible countries. Teams may consist of students from a single institution, but cross-country participation is required at the competition level. The inclusion of women participants should be encouraged. The consortium may decide the competition format and number of rounds, with at least one round per challenge and one physical event where teams present their projects to a jury.
4. Awards
   The consortium will design attractive award packages for the winning teams, which may be financed through the financial support to third parties scheme. These awards will recognise outstanding solutions to the defined challenges and may include sponsored prizes or follow-up opportunities from industry partners.

Type of action and funding rate: Coordination and Support Action (CSA) — 100% funding rate
Funding: €7,000,000
Deadline: 3 March 2026 (17:00 Brussels time)
Call text:View the official call document here
Call information: Available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Info session: coming soon!

Find Project Partners & Prepare Proposals  

Do you want to find consortia partners and participate in this call?  

Simply use the Comments feature at the bottom of this tread to introduce your organisation, express your interest in creating or joining a consortia, indicate your desired role in the project, and provide a link to your Member Profile on the platform or your personal email address. You can see some organisations have already added their profiles below, so feel free to follow their lead! 

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Best of luck with your proposals!