Shine bright, be digital, go further: launch of the 2026 European Digital Skills Awards
Europe’s digital future starts with skills and the 2026 edition of the European Digital Skills Awards is now open, celebrating the initiatives that are shaping it.
We invite everyone who have either initiated or completed projects to foster the adoption of digital skills in one of the five awards categories to apply.
Europe's digital skills in 2026: 5 awards categories
The five EDSA awards categories reflect the diversity of digital skills needs and initiatives shaping Europe’s digital future. They are:
- Digital Upskilling @ Work: Initiatives focused on digital upskilling and reskilling professionals in various sectors and of SMEs, facilitating job placements for ICT professionals at all levels.
- Digital Skills for Education: Projects specifically aimed at digital upskilling for teachers and/or students, VET and school administrations.
- Inclusion in the Digital World: Efforts centred on digital training, media literacy programs for groups of persons that experience a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and violence, including, but not limited to, ethnic minorities, migrants, people with disabilities, isolated elderly people and children, marginalised, hard to reach and high-risk groups, and initiatives to foster digital accessibility skills.
- Women in ICT Careers: Projects aimed at increasing the representation of women in ICT professions, offering digital upskilling opportunities for women in the workforce, and encouraging young women to pursue careers in ICT.
- Cybersecurity Skills: Designed for cybersecurity skills development initiatives for citizens and SMEs.
Applications for EDSA 2026
Applications are open until 20 March 2026.
Read more about here and apply by completing this application form.
We welcome applications from public, private, academic, research and/or training centres, schools, SMEs or large corporates, EU-funded project consortia, public administrations, NGOs and citizen initiatives.
Finalists will be announced during a special online event in spring 2026, and the in-person awards ceremony will take place in Brussels in June.
In this third edition of the awards since they were relaunched in 2023, we aim to reach an ever-wider audience to activate current and future stakeholders around a large-scale celebration of best practices in skills development throughout Europe.
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