ATHENA Grant & Support Office

NEWS

Austria : New Perspectives for Excellent ERC Proposals

Through RISE Europe, the FWF, funded by the Fonds Zukunft Österreich, is offering researchers a new opportunity for proposals submitted to the European Research Council (ERC): If a project is not funded by the ERC due to limited budget resources, FWF funding will be...

EU and India conclude negotiations on association to Horizon Europe

The European Commission and India have successfully concluded negotiations on India's association to Horizon Europe, the EU's €93.5 billion flagship research and innovation programme. This marks an important step forward for EU-India relations, strengthening...

97th ESFRI Forum Highlights: Advancing Europe’s Research Infrastructure Priorities

Under the Irish Presidency, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) held its 97th Forum meeting on 23-24 September 2026 at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) in Cork. Cooperation, Resilience and the Path to Roadmap 2026 ...

Aalto ranks third in Europe for university spinout funding – this is the recipe for creating new industries

Aalto University's spinout companies, including quantum company IQM and satellite company ICEYE, have raised approximately EUR 2.6 billion in funding since 2010 Eight research-based spinout companies have already been launched this year from Aalto University, a marked...

European Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank jointly back €560M in space tech investments

New financing to back investment in satellites, launch technologies and space services across the European Union Partnership agreed ahead of the European Space Agency Space Investor Forum in Munich Initiative expands EIB’s Space TechEU cooperation with leading...

Horizon Europe Widening calls receive more than 2,500 proposals

A total of 2,562 applications were received under the calls for the Teaming Synergies, Research Management Facility, Hop-on Facility and ERA Fellowships actions, competing for a total budget of €52 million. The two new instruments – Teaming Synergies and Research...

New EIT Regional Innovation Scheme report showcases impact across Europe

The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Annual Activity Report 2025 highlights strong progress in strengthening regional innovation ecosystems, with supported ventures attracting €579 million in external investment in 2025 – a 147% increase compared with 2024. The...

ATHENA FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES CALENDAR

EVENTS

European Quantum Technologies Conference

The European Quantum Technologies Conference is a Quantum Flagship event dedicated to showcasing the latest advances in research and innovation in Quantum Information Science and Technology. The mission of the European Quantum Technologies Conference (EQTC) is to...

Online Info Day: Accelerator Challenges 2027

aking place the morning after the EIC Work Programme 2027 Info Day, this dedicated online session will focus on the EIC Accelerator Challenges for 2027. Join us to discover the new Challenges and learn more about the opportunities available to EIC applicants in 2027....

Scaleup Europe Fund Online Info Session

n August 2026 the Scaleup Europe Fund was launched and has started to make major investments to build up a portfolio of European growth-stage companies across strategic technologies. An information session is being organised to provide further insights about the...

 Digitalisation and AI in the energy sector

The Energy Transition Expertise Centre - ENTEC2  is organising a series of 3 online workshops from October to December 2026, to present and discuss the findings of the recent ENTEC2 studies on the following topics  digitalisation and AI citizen energy...

EduCafé: European Degree Label & Its Implementation, Video Available

The last EduCafé of 2026 focused on implementing the Joint European Degree Label and the potential future development. On Tuesday, 6 October, CZELO hosted our traditional informal discussion evening, EduCafé. This time, the discussion focused on the Joint European...

EC publishes draft programme for R&I Days 2026

The European Commission has published the draft conference programme for the European R&I Days 2026, due to take place in Brussels on 10 and 11 November 2026. In addition, all sessions will be live streamed on YouTube and the R&I Community platform The R&I...

Horizon Europe info days—Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space, 14-15/10/2026

About the event Are you looking for research & innovation funding opportunities to develop a competitive, digital, low-carbon and circular industry? Join the Horizon Europe Cluster 4 info days on 14 and 15 October 2026 to learn more about the topics of the 2027...