Source of Funding: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

This year, €1.25 billion is available under the MSCA to support researchers from all over the globe, in any research and innovation domain. Their currently open calls are:

International Cooperation

Aids in fostering international cooperation in MSCA in Horizon Europe, through a dedicated support action to complement and ensure coordination between existing promotion channels at local level, and ensure consistency with formal R&I policy dialogues at bilateral and regional levels.

Application deadline: 4 September 2024

Postdoctoral Fellowships
Postdoctoral Fellowships support the development of new skills, advance careers, and allow for the possibility of gaining international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral experience.

Application deadline: 11 September 2024

COFUND
COFUND helps organisations develop doctoral and postdoctoral programmes by co-funding a share of their costs. This allows for the recruitment of global talents and promotes MSCA’s best practices, including training for researchers at all stages of their careers.

Application deadline: 26 September 2024

Doctoral Networks
Doctoral Networks foster collaboration between organisations across the globe to implement doctoral programmes. They support top-level projects open to doctoral researchers and provide international experiences in both the academic and non-academic sectors for researchers.

Application deadline: 27 November 2024

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

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Source of Funding: iMermaid

iMERMAID will develop and apply innovative solutions that prevent, monitor and remediate the Mediterranean against Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CoEC). The project will deploy and demonstrate the developed solutions in various use cases, providing the basis for their future scale up addressing chemical pollution from its source to its destination.

Through its open call, the project aims to engage with at least five ‘associated regions’ outside the iMERMAID consortium to demonstrate the feasibility, replicability, and scalability of these solutions in new areas. These associated regions will receive funding and technical advisory services to prepare roadmaps, plans, and projects aimed at preventing, eliminating, and remediating chemical pollution. The support will address potential barriers and showcase the feasibility of implementing iMERMAID’s innovative solutions.

They are looking for regional and local public authorities located in EU Member states and Associated regions. Applicants should propose use cases that address their specific challenges and objectives, aligning with the goals of iMERMAID, and demonstrating the feasibility, replicability, and scalability of the iMERMAID solutions.

In total, we will invest €400,000 in our Open Call #1 to fund and support 4 associated regions projects that will be part of our journey.

Visit the below link to read further.

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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.

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Source of Funding: Fusion for Energy

A unique funding opportunity to accelerate technology transfer of fusion technologies into non-fusion markets.

As part of the efforts to facilitate the use of fusion technologies and know-how in non-fusion markets, Fusion For Energy with the support of Viromii Innovation launches an Open Call for Fusion Technology Transfer Demonstrator Proposals.

Open to European companies and organisations, the call aims to financially support a demonstrator project, where a technology developed under Fusion for Energy activities is planned to be used in a non-fusion environment. The selected project will be funded with 50.000€.

The applications will be evaluated based on three criteria:

• Feasibility of the demonstrator project
• Innovation potential
• Socio-economic impact

The Evaluation Panel of the call for proposals will select one project to be funded with 50.000 EURO

Who can apply ? The Applicant must be an entity registered in an F4E Member State.

The Applicant is invited to present the planning limited to 8 months starting on the Technology Transfer Demonstrator Project contract signature date.

The demonstrator project shall address technological barriers. The non-fusion application foreseen shall not promote activities, or be related to the military, alcohol, tobacco, religion, politics, intolerance, violence, firearms, pornography, obscenity, gambling or illegal drugs.

When and how to apply ?

The application closes on the 30th of July 2024.

Visit the below link to download guidelines and 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: Xjenza Malta (formerly the Malta Council for Science and Technology - MCST)

Following the proposal of the Action Plan for the Health and Well-being Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) and after several consultations between Xjenza Malta (formerly known as the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST)) and the Cancer Research and Innovation Hub Malta (CRIHM), a dedicated thematic programme for cancer research has been designed.   The Cancer Research Programme aims to support research that might in the future help reduce the incidence of cancer, improve cancer treatment, survival, and the quality of life of cancer patients.   The Cancer Research Programme aims to support capacity-building efforts related to:

• Molecular Research and Diagnostic Innovations
• Community-Based Cancer Research
• Therapeutic Development and Clinical Strategies
• Psychosocial Support and Patient-Centred Approaches

It aims to support fundamental and translational research including genetic, pharmacogenomic, proteomics, pharmaceutical, cellular, and pre-clinical in vivo research into the causes, mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer as well as research targeting psychosocial aspects of cancer, its treatment and survival.

Visit the below link to continue reading and download the application guidelines.

An online information session will be held on 28 June 2024, starting at 13:00. Click here to register.

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Source of Funding: The Energy & Water Agency

The Energy and Water Agency would like to announce its fifth call of the current ongoing scheme being the Energy and Water Research and Innovation scheme.

The Application period is open from the 24th of June until the 23rd of September, to which should be focused on at least one of the specific areas below: 

• Optimizing Greywater systems to improve water use efficiency
• Efficient Agricultural Irrigation Systems
• Enhancing the potential of, or introducing novel implementation, of Solar & Wind systems
• Integration of Grid and Storage with Energy Sources and Demand-Side Management

This iteration of the scheme maintains the previous Technology Readiness Level (TRL) requirements as well as project timelines can now range from 2 to 3 years. Beneficiaries are also expected to produce a prototype or model that operates effectively within a suitable environment.

This change was implemented to demonstrate the tangible outcomes that can result from Research & Innovation and underscore the importance of R&I in achieving sustainability goals. The scheme has allocated a budget of €400,000, with each project eligible to request a maximum budget of €200,000. Applicants are required to submit their applications as part of a consortium.

All relevant information can be found in the corresponding Rules for Participation.

An Information Session is scheduled for Friday 28th June at 3 pm to provide further details about the scheme. Click here to register.

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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: Malta Council for Science and Technology

The PRIMA Training and Mobility Award is now accepting applications. This award supports Malta-based eligible entities to form collaborative links with at least one foreign counterpart from any one of the 19 PRIMA Participating States.

Funding Opportunities:

• In-person short training and/or placements for local researchers in foreign entities,
• Strategic and targeted visits by local applicants to foreign entities,
• Knowledge-transfer and/or dissemination seminars or workshops held in Malta, on specific PRIMA R&I thematic areas (water management, sustainable farming systems, and agro-food value chain).

Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed activities will:

• Develop effective cross-border collaborations,
• Undertake research and/or training in PRIMA thematic areas,
• Lead to the submission of a proposal to any PRIMA-related calls.

Eligible entities established in Malta can apply for funding up to EUR 8,000.

Visit the below link to download the application forms and guidelines.

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