Specialised Education Programmes in Key Capacity Areas

The Specialised Education Programmes in Key Capacity Areas call, under the Digital Europe Programme, aims to support excellence in higher education institutions, making them world leaders in training the digital specialists of the future. This initiative seeks to increase the capacity of educational offerings in advanced digital skills, fostering dynamic digital educational ecosystems. These ecosystems will feature collaboration between higher education institutions, industry innovators, and research partners, attracting and retaining top global talent. The funded actions will contribute to achieving the goal of 20 million ICT specialists in the EU by 2030, as outlined in the Digital Decade Policy Programme, and help close the significant digital skills gap currently affecting the EU.

Areas

The call aims to fund 10 projects in 10 selected areas. Thus, it will support the development and deployment of key digital skills in 5 selected digital areas:

Virtual worlds
Edge computing
Quantum computing
Photonics
Robotics and automatisation

Moreover, it will fund interdisciplinary programmes targeted at the acquisition of advanced green digital skills in 4 specific sectors related to the green transition:

Agriculture
Transport
Renewable energy
Waste Management

Finally, as the last of the 10 selected areas, it will support programs aimed at the acquisition of advanced digital skills for the government and public sector.

Expected outcomes

The projects are expected to reach the subsequent outcomes:

Consortia of higher education institutions, research organisations and businesses and other stakeholders design and deliver education programmes and self-standing modules in the area of advanced digital skills for developers and users of advanced digital technologies.
Higher education institutions are upgraded with digital solutions, equipment and infrastructure, with a special focus on interoperability of IT systems.
Students are supported with scholarships (for participating in education programmes and internships), or via other financial and support measures.
Structural and sustainable partnerships between members of the consortium are established.

Eligibility Criteria

The proposal must be submitted by a consortium of at least 6 independent entities from 4 different countries
The consortium is highly recommended to include at least three degree-awarding higher education institutions, a minimum of two industry partners, and at least one additional independent research organisation/hub or competence/excellence centre.
Eligible countries are EU Member States and countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme

Funding