ATHENA Grant & Support Office

NEWS

Annual I3 Instrument Forum 2026: turning interregional cooperation into impact

The Annual I3 Instrument Forum 2026 brought the I3 Instrument community together in Brussels to showcase how interregional cooperation is turning regional strengths into investment, market opportunities and stronger European value chains. On 1 October, I3 Instrument...

EIC Accelerator awardee Hyperion Robotics raises €6.4 million and moves towards a major procurement deal

Finnish EIC Accelerator awardee Hyperion Robotics has raised €6.4 million in growth funding to bring physical AI to European infrastructure as it initiates discussions with a major infrastructure corporation to supply CE-marked, low-carbon foundations. Together, the...

European Capital of Innovation 2027: meet the semi-finalist cities!

The twelve cities will now compete for the titles of European Capital of Innovation 2027 and European Rising Innovative City 2027. Supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe, the European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) recognise...

Commission delivers more than €210 million to support over 700 researchers to build their careers in Europe

More than 700 additional researchers will be able to build their careers in Europe thanks to an additional boost of over €210 million to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – one of Europe's flagship programmes for research careers. The funding is part of Choose...

Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU (SRIP) report 2026

After a series of deep and unprecedented shocks, the European economy is on a path of lower growth and lower productivity in comparison with the main global competitors. In order to achieve faster productivity growth, without undermining our social model or our...

Erasmus+: MEPs push to make 2028-2034 programme more accessible

The Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) voted on Tuesday to amend a Commission proposal for the 2028-2034 Erasmus+ programme. With around 17 million participants since its creation in 1987 and its 40th anniversary set to take place in...

€8 million for excellent researchers in Widening countries: new ERA Fellowships kick off

The European Commission is investing around €8 million in 41 new projects under the ERA Fellowships scheme. They will support postdoctoral researchers from across the world to relocate and work in one of the Widening countries.  As a well-established...

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
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

EVENTS

The European Innovation Act and universities: aims, ambitions and next steps

Initiatives to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and innovation capacity have greatly proliferated with the adoption of the Startup and Scaleup Strategy in 2025, the implementation of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027 and the still-evolving plans for the next Horizon...

Quality assurance of joint programmes: what does the ‘European Approach’ mean for universities?

Joint programmes are an increasingly common feature of European higher education, supported by initiatives such as Erasmus Mundus and the European Universities alliances, yet coordinating separate national accreditation procedures for each partner institution remains...

Erasmus Days, 12-17/10/2026

From language exchange meetups to international food festivals, the Erasmus Days offer a unique chance to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and learn about different cultures. You can attend talks on studying abroad, discover the beauty of traditional...

European AI Innovation Month

The European AI Innovation Month brings together policymakers, industry, public sector, and research together to discuss and showcase how AI is being developed and applied across EU industry sectors. From 14 October to 17 November 2026, this...

Upskilling Europe: Microcredentials in action. 29/09/2026. recordings available

This event brought together policymakers, researchers, social partners and education and training experts to examine the evolving role of microcredentials in labour market, education and training. The event explored their relevance and real-life use to support skills...

Online conference „Celebrating 30 years of MSCA: Curiosity that changes the world“

n 2026, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) celebrate their 30th anniversary. To mark this milestone, the European Commission is organising a high-level event celebrating three decades of the programme and the remarkable community behind it. Policymakers,...

European Commission and EIB Group launch Institutional Investors Pact to boost investment in tech scale-ups

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group launched today the European Institutional Investors Pact (EIIP) at the TechEU Equity Summit.  The Pact is a new voluntary framework designed to channel more long-term...