ATHENA Grant & Support Office

NEWS

The Space Economy at a Glance 2026

As space activities expand and become embedded in everyday economic and public-service functions, governments need better evidence to understand their benefits, risks and policy implications. The Space Economy at a Glance 2026 provides a compact and...

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call receives record number of applications

The 2026 Postdoctoral Fellowships call of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) closed on 9 September 2026. The European Research Executive Agency received 21,627 proposals under this call, the highest number of applications received for MSCA Postdoctoral...

International declaration on space-based scientific data.

Signatures : Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea,...

EU projects to empower researchers with more efficient, competitive and inclusive tools

The EU is investing €411 million in 73 new projects that will develop and facilitate access to better technology and services for researchers to address EU priorities and make the European Research Area more competitive. News article 14 September 2026 European...

 European Innovation Act takes key actions on public procurement, but sidesteps careers, mobility and universities’ unique role

The persistent scaling gap for European innovators due to regulatory and financial issues has long been identified as a constraint in the translation of scientific results into new products, services and solutions. With the Innovation Act, Europe is now signalling its...

EU Missions drive systemic change, new assessment shows

The five EU Missions in Horizon Europe are delivering tangible positive results in addressing some of Europe's most pressing societal challenges through scientific and technological innovation, according to a mid-term assessment published today by the...

JRC assesses prospective economic impact of European Innovation Act

According to an ex-ante economic impact assessment of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), three reforms proposed by the European Innovation Act (EIA, published on 9 Sept. 2026) could generate up to € 452 billion in cumulative GDP, and half a million...

ATHENA FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES CALENDAR

Erasmus +

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges in Neighbourhood East
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-VIRT-EXCH-NE
04 Dec 202526 Nov 2026
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges in Western Balkans
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-VIRT-EXCH-WB
04 Dec 202526 Nov 2026

Horizon Chips 2023 JU

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
Quantum Experimental Pilot Lines for Quantum Technologies
HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-QEXP-14-01
13 Aug 202617 Nov 2026

Horizon Europe 2021-2027

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
MSCA Staff Exchanges 2027
HORIZON-MSCA-2027-SE-01-01
15 Dec 202615 Apr 2027
Pilot access schemes to Technology Infrastructures for European startups, scaleups and innovative SMEs (CSA)
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-47
22 Sep 202602 Feb 2027
R&I Policy Support for Enlargement Countries
POLICY ENLARGE
09 Sep 202612 Nov 2026
Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Call 2026
DUT
01 Sep 202617 Nov 2026
EIC STEP Scale Up
HORIZON-EIC-2026-STEP
06 Nov 202525 Nov 2026

Horizon Europe Cluster 5

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
Africa-EU CO-FUND action on climate
HORIZON-CL5-2027-01-D1-11
17 Nov 202604 Mar 2027

Open for SMEs-Innovators-Students

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
Third Lump Sum Micro-Grants for Members of the SoilTribes Community of Practice
SoilTribes
10 Aug 202614 Sep 2026
EIC Accelerator 2026 – Short proposal
HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01
06 Nov 202517 Dec 2026

Regional Innovation-Research-Education

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
KAVA Call 14 – RIS Innovation
EIT RM BP26-28
07 Aug 202616 Oct 2026

Transanational Cooperation

Call/TopicOpenDeadline
European Partnership on Innovative SMEs/Innowwide CALL 5
InnovativeSMEs
01 Oct 202601 Oct 2026

EVENTS

Horizon Europe Event 2026

https://research-innovation-community.ec.europa.eu/events

CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days 2026: Built in Europe. Built to Last!

This annual event brings together promising startups, investors, accelerators, and industry and institutional leaders to discuss how European Union space tech ventures are adapting to evolving geopolitical and market dynamics....

EUSPA Career Day

EUSPA Career Day offers an opportunity to discover the people, projects and career paths behind EU's Space Programme. Through expert talks, employee testimonials and practical workshops, you'll gain first-hand insights into working at EUSPA and learn how to take the...

European Research & Innovation Days 2026 will take place on 10-11 November

The seventh edition of the European Commission’s flagship research and innovation event will take place on 10 and 11 November 2026 in Brussels and online. It brings together policymakers, researchers, innovators, business leaders and representatives of civil...

The international launch of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 report, 08/09/2026

Watch live below Join us for the launch of the PISA 2025 results. PISA is the largest international comparative survey of 15-year-old students, assessing how well they can apply what they learn to real world problems. More than 760,000 students in 91...

Unlocking European Research, 23/09/2026

Choose europe: Guiding you into the European innovation ecosystem. Join 'Unlocking European Research' a free three-part webinar series guiding researchers, diaspora scientists and entrepreneurs through funding, career pathways, and relocation into Europe’s innovation...

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...