Excellence Hubs focus on innovation in Widening countriesEN••• and beyond. They allow innovation ecosystems to team up and create better connections between academia, business, government and society. To be eligible for Excellence hubs, the coordinator must be from a Widening country however the participants in the project can be from any country associated to the Horizon Europe programme.
The first call for proposals of this action was launched in November 2021, with 13 selected projects and more than EUR 50 million in Horizon Europe funding available. The second call for proposals will open on 28 September 2023, with an overall indicative budget of EUR 60 million.
Excellence hubs are part of the European Excellence Initiative and complement the science-oriented schemes: TeamingEN•••, TwinningEN•••, ERA ChairsEN••• and the European Excellence InitiativeEN••• for universities by a dedicated innovation component.
Excellence Hubs: strengthening regional innovation in Widening countries (europa.eu)