In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

• Be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• Be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • Creative Europe Participating Countries:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • non-EU countries:
      • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (list of participating countries)

Consortium composition Proposals must be submitted by:

• for topic DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-QUANTUM-ACADEMY-STEP — Sectoral digital skills academies: Quantum Skills Digital Academy
  • Consortium composed of a minimum 5 entities (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from a minimum 3 different eligible countries.
• for topic DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-GENAI-ACADEMY-STEP— Sectoral digital skills academies: Digital Skills Academy in GenAI
  • Consortium composed of a minimum 6 entities (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from a minimum 3 different eligible countries.
• for topic DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-VIRTUAL-WORLDS-ACADEMY-STEP Sectoral digital skills academies: Virtual Worlds Skills Academy
  • − Consortium composed of a minimum of 6 (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from a minimum of 4 different eligible countries.

Targeted stakeholders

The participating consortium members should demonstrate complementary roles in the proposal and demonstrate an outstanding track record in their respective fields. The consortium is highly recommended to include at least:

• Two degree awarding higher education institution from an eligible country which are part of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). Higher education institutions established in other eligible countries which are not part of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education can also be included in the consortium. In this case, the consortium must prove that the specific higher education institution is recognised by the competent national authority and offers full study programmes leading to higher education degrees and recognised diplomas at tertiary education qualifications levels.
• Two industry partners whose headquarters are located in an eligible country. The consortium is encouraged to particularly involve small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as start-ups. Participating businesses must clearly explain their contribution to the objectives of the action and should be ideally representative of key EU industries, including healthcare and pharmaceutical, manufacturing, mobility including automotive and aerospace, agriculture, cultural and creative industries, energy, telecoms, environment, robotics, defence and (cyber)security, and finance.
• One independent research organisation/hub or competence/excellence centre in AI.
• One Vocational Education and Training (VET) institution

The involvement of public sector organisations in the consortium can be also considered. Particular attention should be given to:

• Ensuring inclusivity in Europe and help widening the specialised education offer in all Member States with a special focus on those Member States that score low in terms of advanced digital skills levels, according to the Digital Decade Policy Programme, in particular in the field of AI;
• Ensuring inclusivity of public or private bodies that are not currently already engaged in other European projects addressing skills in AI.

In alignment with the other digital academies, the activities of the AI Skills Academy will be centred around three pillars of action.

 

Pillar 1: Knowledge, education, and training

Under this first pillar, the AI Skills Academy will review, develop, and implement education and training material for university and vocational training students. It will also pilot on-the-job trainings for professionals.

Pillar 2: Building the ecosystem

Under this second pillar, the Academy will act as a catalyst to attract and retain European and international talent in the EU labour market, including facilitating the matching of AI-skilled workers with jobs. Communication and dissemination activities will further promote career paths and increase the visibility of the Academy and its education and training offer.

Pillar 3: Measuring progresso

Under the third pillar, the Academy will monitor the progress and impact of its

activities.

 

Proposals are highly encouraged to cover the following points explicitly under the

IMPLEMENTATION criterion:

• Proposals should demonstrate the maturity of the project by describing the totality of the content to be proposed in a structured manner, linking content items to specific objectives or deliverables mentioned in this call text. A granular description of deliverables is essential.
• Proposals should describe the implementation plan, including how the different content items will be designed, developed, implemented by members of the consortium, the needed resources and timeline. All the Academy’s education and training activities should be starting at the latest, at the beginning of the second year of the project.
• Proposals should explain the rationale behind the proposed work packages and tasks, and how they are linked to the objectives/activities/key tasks of the topic. Ensure that the work packages support the three pillars outlined above.
• Proposals should provide deliverables and milestones that are suited to the scope of the proposed implementation and allow for the monitoring of the project’s implementation. Ensure that outcomes and deliverables listed in this call are embedded in the implementation plan.
• If applicable, proposals should explain how students will be financially supported to participate to the programme(s), training modules (e.g. via scholarships, fee waivers or others), and especially to acquire practical experience either with members of the consortium or with companies and organisations outside the consortium. This support can take the form of Financial Support to Third Parties, in particular for the funding of scholarships, fellowships, returnship programmes and apprenticeships.
• Proposals should explain the feasibility of the proposed implementation timeline and budget/use of resources taking into account the proposed work packages.
• Proposals should demonstrate the capacity of the applicants and the consortium as a whole to carry out the proposed work, with particular emphasis on the role to be played by industrial participants.
• Proposals should present how the members of the consortium complement each other, their expertise and their contributions to the project. Make sure to clearly indicate the role each partner will play in the proposal. Clarify how content will be (co-)designed by members of the consortium, with particular emphasis on the role to be played by industrial participants.

Organisation: Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA)

Click here for more information, application and contacts.

NOTE: The Opening Date in the description may not match with real Call Opening Date.