Source of Funding: Xjenza Malta

The Technology Extension Support Programme (TESP) is a funding programme targeted at the private sector to provide financial support for incremental product or process improvement through the collaboration with higher education institutions (HEIs).

The aims of this programme are to:

• Foster private entity-higher education institutes partnerships in a low-risk environment.
• Expose private companies to R&I related activities and bridge the gap towards more intensive initiatives.
• Involve more the Higher Education Institutes in the industry, leading to novel ideas which could be developed.
• Increase economic output by supporting industrial activities.
• Bridge the gap between academia and industry.

Local Maltese entities are eligible for funding up to a maximum grant amount of €100,000. It is to be noted that since an aim of this programme is collaboration, the HEI in collaboration with the private entity will receive a minimum of 40% and maximum of 50% of the grant amount.

An online information session with more details on the TESP will be held on Tuesday 26th November 2024. To register for this info session kindly follow this link.

All projects are evaluated by a selection panel set up by Xjenza Malta on the basis of evaluation criteria outlined in the Call text. Interested Applicants are to submit the below documentation electronically rtdi.xjenzamalta@gov.mt by the 27th January 2025 at 23:59 CET keeping in copy Ms Giulia Aquilina at giulia.aquilina@gov.mt. All received applications shall be acknowledged by email. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

For further information please contact:

Ms Giulia Aquilina at giulia.aquilina@gov.mt (+356) 2360 2197  and/or Mr Stephen Borg at stephen.i.borg@gov.mt (+356) 2360 2208.

Visit the below link to download guidelines and application forms.

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Source of Funding: Xjenza Malta

Xjenza Malta is receiving proposals under the Research Networking Scheme (RNS). The Scheme consists of two components, the Networking Scheme and the Open Access Journal Support. Applicants are to fill in the appropriate sections of the form; they may select one of the components or both:

Networking Scheme: opportunities for collaborative initiatives (i.e., conferences, strategic academic visits, etc.) between Maltese entities and at least one foreign entity of proven track record of excellence. Proposals should describe the nature of the joint activities that would be funded through the Award. Applicants are to demonstrate how the proposed activities contribute towards and align with achieving the goals of the National R&I Strategy, and to describe the potential of any activities to become self-sustaining or generate longer-term outcomes. The amount of the Award under the Networking Scheme is up to €8000

Open Access Journal Support: this opportunity will support researchers who have already benefited from Xjenza Malta research grants to publish their research on a peer reviewed open access journal. The amount of the Award under the Open Access Journal Support is up to €4000

All projects are evaluated by a selection panel set up by Xjenza Malta on the basis of evaluation criteria outlined in the Call text. Interested Applicants are to submit their application form electronically to networking.xjenzamalta@gov.mt keeping in copy Dr. Alessandra Loria at alessandra.loria@gov.mt with “RNS – Application 2024 Call 2” as subject heading. The deadline for submission is Friday 8th November 2024 at 11.30pm. The application must be dated and signed by the applicant and the legal representative. All received applications shall be acknowledged by email. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

An online information session with more details on the RNS call 2 will be held on Wednesday, 9th October 2024 at 10.00am. To register for this info session kindly press HERE. Additional information can be found in the documents attached to this call. Alternatively, interested parties may contact Dr. Alessandra Loria on 23602111.

Call Deadline: 8 November 2024

Download application forms and guidelines from the below link.

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Source of Funding: Women TechEU

Women TechEU is a 2-year EU-funded project supporting women leading deep tech startup companies from Europe.

Our mission is to create a more gender-balanced entrepreneurship ecosystem. We believe that diversity drives innovation, and we are here to provide women in deep tech with more opportunities, resources, and support to thrive.

The project consortium is launching 4 calls for applications over the span of 2 years which, following a rigorous evaluation process, will result in a total of 160 beneficiaries. Each beneficiary will receive €75k grants (non-dilutive finance) as well as a personalised business development programme which includes mentoring, coaching and targeted training among other options.

Visit the below link to read further.

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Source of Funding: WASABI Project

With the aim of expanding the WASABI ecosystem, the project foresees two different Open Calls to finance 20 additional experiments.
This represents a huge opportunity for SMEs and Small Mid-caps to participate in the process of Digital Transformation of Industry 5.0, receiving complementary funding for the full implementation of their experiments.
The involvement of new experiments will undergo three stages:

1. Experiment design by the proposers
2. Submission of the experiment by the proposers
3. Selection of the experiments

Proposals will be funded through Lump Sum, with a total amount of €125.000,00 per proposal, and led by an SME.

The Open Call will provide an important opportunity to address advanced functionalities on the implementation of digital assistance solutions, such as:
• Human machine interface for complex processes;
• Agile onboarding of new employees in complex manufacturing systems;
• Conversation AI facilitating data access in different thematic areas;
• Conversation guided maintenance operations.

KEY INFORMATION:
OC Launch: July 12th, 2024
OC Deadline: Sept 20th, 2024 (17:00 CET)
OC Total Budget: €1.250.000,00
Experiment Duration: 12 Months
Consortium Composition: 1 SME
Number of experiments: 10
Financial support: €125.000,00 (per experiment)

MANDATORY TASKS:
1) Each experiment will develop their Wasabi solution (AI-based assistance for their processes or products)
2) Each experiment will participate in the Wasabi ecosystem
3) Each experiment will need to collaborate with a DIH included in the European DIH Map.

Read further on the below link.

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Source of Funding: Randomised Optimisation Algorithms Research Network (ROAR-NET)

COST Action CA22137 - Randomised Optimisation Algorithms Research Network (ROAR-NET) invites applications for Short-Term Scientific Missions. A Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) consists in a visit to a host organisation located in a different country than the country of affiliation by a researcher or innovator for specific work to be carried out and for a determined period of time.

Eligibility rules

You may apply for an STSM if:

• You are based in a research institution in a legal entity in a COST Full/Cooperating Member, Near Neighbour Country (NNC) or a European RTD (see the Country and Organisations Table).
• You are engaged in an official research programme as a PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow or are employed by, or affiliated to, an institution, organisation or legal entity where you conduct research.

Duration

• There is no limitation on the duration of STSMs within each Action Grant Period. However, the STSM grant amount is limited and may not cover the total costs incurred during the STSM.
• The STSM must have a minimum duration of five calendar days. However, STSMs of longer duration are encouraged.

Location

• The host organisation of the STSM grantee must be located in a different country than the country of the grantee’s affiliation.
• There is no limitation on the location of the STSM host. Again, although STSMs can take place anywhere in the world, the STSM grant amount is limited and might not cover the total costs incurred during the STSM.

Specific eligibility criteria

• The STSM must contribute to the goals of the Action (see the Memorandum of Understanding).
• The STSM must address one of the following themes of interest to the Action:
  • Problem modelling and user experience
  • Mixed continuous and discrete optimisation
  • Single- and multiobjective optimisation
  • Optimisation under uncertainty
  • Algorithm selection and configuration
  • Benchmarking

Read further by visiting the below link:

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Source of Funding: InvestGozo

Scheme provides for a partial salary reimbursement of up to €8,000 per annum for a period of 3 years (for a total grant of up to a maximum of €24,000) and for a partial reimbursement of training costs of up to €1,500 per annum for a period of 3 years for each employee working within specific knowledge-intensive economic sectors based in Gozo.

Description

The Supporting Knowledge-Based Sectors in Gozo scheme will target the knowledge-intensive economic sectors. Aid provided under this scheme is in the form of partial reimbursement of salaries for full-time employment on an indefinite basis:

1. either of newly employed staff based in Gozo; or
2. staff already employed with the same undertaking uninterruptedly as from 1st January 2018 onwards. Eligibility is restricted to employees for which their employer has already benefitted from the full 3-year cycle under the Gozo Employment Refund Scheme or Gozo Back-Office Employment Refund Scheme. 

This scheme focuses on assisting and sustaining the transition into a more knowledge-based economy, by seeking to develop and attract higher value-adding sectors that will enhance Gozo’s sustainability and investment diversification.

As opposed to traditional economy sectors where the production of goods and services is the primary objective, the knowledge economy has as its main aim the creation and dissemination of knowledge and information – mostly through research, analysis, and development. These in turn often become the primary resources for innovation in products and services. In the knowledge economy human capital i.e., the skills, knowledge, and experience of an organisation’s workforce, is an essential asset. Enterprises operating in the knowledge-based industries must constantly strive to identify and recruit employees with the necessary skills and abilities, provide ongoing training and development opportunities, and create an overall positive work culture that attracts and retains the best talent to remain competitive and stay ahead in these rapidly evolving sectors.

Beneficiaries

The Supporting Knowledge-Based Sectors in Gozo scheme targets knowledge-intensive economic sectors falling under the NACE code categories listed below:

• J58.2 – Software Publishing
• J62 – Computer Programming, consultancy, and related activities
• J63.1 – Data processing, hosting, and related activities
• K – Financial and insurance activities
• M69 – Legal and accounting activities
• M70 – Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
• M71 – Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis
• M72 – Scientific research and development
• M74.1 – Specialized design activities
• R92 – Gambling and betting activities

 The beneficiaries of this scheme will be the Employer, having a registered address from where operations are carried out, subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme as stated in the Guidance Notes.

Visit the below link to read further.

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Source of Funding: NEMO

NEMO announces Open Call #2, which aims to validate user acceptance and boost NEMO massive adoption and sustainability. NEMO Open Call #2 invites EU based SMEs to extend the NEMO use cases by porting their new or existing applications and services into the NEMO meta-OS, in the verticals of the NEMO Living Labs. The proposed applications should leverage NEMO capabilities and demonstrate the meta-OS potential in satisfying high-demanding requirements, including (but not limited to):

• High device heterogeneity, including low-capable IoT devices

• On-device machine learning

• Low latency & high bandwidth

• Increased energy efficiency and reduced energy footprint of IT operations

• Sustainable IT investments through data, resource and/or service monetization

The open call will have three phases:

1. DESIGN (2 months duration) allowing the applicant to fine-tune their application concept.
2. EXPERIMENT (6 months duration) allowing the applicant to develop the proposed meta-OS application providing an MVP.
3. GROWTH (1 month duration) allowing the applicant to promote and exploit their project, aiming to engage new customers and/or partners and/or investors.

The total amount of funding that each SME will receive is up to €90,000, while the total funding that will be provided is €900,000.

Visit the below link to read further.

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Source of Funding: CORTEX2

CORTEX2 are looking for XR innovators, from companies (tech startups/SMEs) to research institutions (universities, NGOs, foundations, associations), to co-develop our CORTEX2 platform.

Our goal? To deliver an inclusive XR teleconference platform while involving organisations in the ‘Lab-To-Market’ stage that will bring new modules and features, enhancing the functionalities and opportunities CORTEX2 can provide.

In total, we will invest €1M in our Open Call #2 to fund and support 10 teams that will be part of our journey.

The call is open from 13 July 2024 to 15 August 2024 at 17:00 CET. All applications will be evaluated by external experts.

Applicants must be based in an EU or Horizon Europe-associated country, and their applications must be submitted in English through the F6S platform.

Visit the below link to read further.

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Source of Funding: FOODITY

FOODITY is an impact-driven project funded under the Horizon Europe programme involving 7 partners from 7 countries.

Over the next 3 years (2023 – 2026), we will work together to ensure a dynamic ecosystem of digital solutions for food and nutrition that respect citizens’ rights to personal data sovereignty in Europe.

Source of Funding: Malta Council for Science and Technology

The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the People’s Republic of China would like to announce that the SINO-MALTA Fund 2024 Joint Call for Project Proposals is now open for Malta-based applicants. The SINO-MALTA Fund supports research, development, and innovation projects between Malta-based and China-based researchers.

For the SINO-MALTA 2024 Joint Call, the eligible Thematic Areas are:

1. Health, with a focus on:
   • Cancer,
   • Cellular therapy,
   • Drug development,
   • Traditional Chinese Medicine,
   • Digital tools to support healthcare.
2. Green and Blue Economy Transitions, with a focus on:
   • Renewable energy,
   • Sustainable mobility,
   • Smart manufacturing,
   • Marine and Maritime technologies.
3. Digital technologies,
   • Digital technologies may remain general as a theme,
   • Digital technologies as a cross-cutting theme may be equally supported.

Proposal Deadline: 19th July 2024, 23:59 CET

The submission process for the 2024 Call will follow a one-stage process that allows for Malta-based applicants to find China-based partners to collaborate and submit a full proposal that describes the state of the art, methodology, implementation, and foreseen outcomes.

Visit the below link to download application forms and guidelines.

Register for the online info session for Malta-based entities on 3rd June 2024:

Session 1: For Academia & Public Entities (10:00 – 11:00 CET)

Session 2: For Private Entities (11:00 – 12:00 CET)

Click here to register.