Exchange Schemes Open Call (oc4-2025-TES-02)

The ENFIELD Exchange Schemes Open Call (oc4-2025-TES-02) is a funding opportunity designed under the Horizon Europe framework to promote researcher mobility and collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence. The project, formally named ENFIELD: European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI, has a total budget of €1,100,000 intended to support at least 76 researchers. The call is open from August 25, 2025, to October 31, 2025, and is structured as an open application process.

Eligible applicants include individual researchers or groups of researchers engaged in foundational research activities, falling within Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 2 to 4. This funding opportunity provides a monthly mobility allowance of €2,400, with a total of up to €14,400 over the project's duration of 3 to 6 months. The initiative primarily targets research areas including Green AI, Adaptive AI, Human-Centric AI, and Trustworthy AI, with relevant industrial applications in the sectors of energy, manufacturing, and space.

The application process is straightforward, requiring submission through an online application form, which includes a two-minute video presentation of the researcher or research group. The evaluation phase involves an initial eligibility check followed by a thorough review by senior researchers who assess proposals based on criteria such as innovation, scientific approach, and communication plans.

This open call aims to enhance scientific collaboration across Europe by enabling researchers to conduct pioneering research at partner institutions, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge in emergent AI technologies and addressing practical challenges within key industrial sectors. Through fostering mobility, the program not only enhances individual researchers' expertise but also strengthens the overall European research ecosystem.

The ENFIELD Exchange Scheme Open Call (oc4-2025-TES-02) is a funding opportunity within the HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-02 topic, which focuses on expanding the European AI lighthouse through a European Network of AI Excellence Centres. The full name of the EU funded project is ENFIELD: European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI, and its grant agreement number is 101120657.

The opening date for this call was August 25, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is October 31, 2025, at 14:00 (Brussels time). It employs a single-stage deadline model.

The expected duration of participation in the Exchange Scheme is a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 6 months. A total budget of 1,100,000 EUR is allocated by ENFIELD to fund the participation of at least 76 researchers in Exchange Schemes. This fourth open call aims to select at least 20 beneficiaries. The consortium reserves the right to not award all available funds or to redistribute them between the open calls planned within the project, depending on the applications received and the results of the evaluation.

The Exchange Open Calls do not fund research itself but promotes interactions and strengthens research collaboration among researchers across Europe by granting researchers with a mobility allowance of 2,400 EUR/month (up to 14,400 EUR in total) for them to carry out research activities in ENFIELD partner organizations for 3-6 months.

The application process is detailed in the Guide for Applicants available at https://enfield-project.eu/open-calls/4th-exchange-scheme-open-call. Project proposals must be submitted via the online Application Form at https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/oc4-2025-TES-02. As part of the application, a 2-minute video in English presenting the applicant (or research group) is required. A direct link to the video must be provided, ensuring it is accessible to reviewers without requiring a login. It is strongly advised to submit proposals well in advance of the deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted, regardless of the reason. The submission system's recorded time of receipt will be considered definitive.

The proposal evaluation process involves an initial eligibility verification to filter out non-eligible proposals. Eligible proposals will then proceed to the evaluation phase, which will be conducted remotely by three senior researchers from ENFIELD partners’ scientific organizations. Proposals will be scored on a scale from 0 (fail) to 5 (excellent) based on the following criteria:

1. Advanced state of the art: The extent to which the proposal goes beyond the current state-of-the-art and presents an innovative approach (e.g., novel concepts and methodologies, development between or across disciplines, novel methods and algorithms addressing societal challenges).

2. Scientific approach: Feasibility of the proposed research methodology and working arrangements.

3. Dissemination and communication: Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate the project results, including methods (publications, presentations, workshops, and/or webinars) and targeted audiences.

4. Technical and creative capacities: i) Demonstration of competences and skills of the researcher (or group of researchers) involved in the proposal. ii) Ability to carry out the activities for the proposed application. iii) Track-record of the team in scientific publications and similar projects. In case of an application submitted by a consortium, complementarity of researchers.

Researchers funded under the ENFIELD Exchange Scheme Open Call will need to conduct foundational research activities related to specific scientific/technological challenges in artificial intelligence, aligned with one of the following research pillars or industrial domains:

Research Pillar: Green AI
G-AI.1 | Technological Symbioses and Rebound Effects with AI
G-AI.2 | Green AI Indexing for Efficient Image and Point Cloud Retrieval
G-AI.3 | Energy-Efficient Multi-Agent AI for Code Generation in Digital Twin Understanding
G-AI.4 | How Green is Physics-Informed Machine Learning?

Research Pillar: Adaptive AI
A-AI.1 | AI-Enhanced Visual Understanding for Inspection and Maintenance
A-AI.2 | Efficient Continual Learning Systems
A-AI.3 | Lifelong Learning and Fine-tuning in LLMs
A-AI.4 | Flexible plastics sorting system based on the combination of multiple vision sensors and adaptive AI
A-AI-IDM.5| Batch pattern mining in industrial signals

Research Pillar: Human-Centric AI
HC-AI.1 | Empowering Human-AI Decision-Making through Real-Time User Modeling
HC-AI.2 | Interpretability and uncertainty in predictive models
HC-AI.3| Human-Centric Explainable AI for Critical Digital Infrastructure
HC-AI.4 | Human-Centered Causal Machine Learning for Real-World Decision Support
HC-AI.5 | Explainable AI Methods for Human-AI Decision Making

Research Pillar: Trustworthy AI
T-AI.1 | Security and Robustness of AI systems
T-AI.2 | Privacy and Compliance of AI systems
T-AI.3 | AI in Distributed systems
T-AI.4 | Enhancing User Trust in AI-powered Chatbots using UBM
T-AI.5 | Trustworthy ML based scheduling for the energy domain
T-AI.6 | Unified approach to assess safety and security of AI systems
T-AI.7 | LLM Safety and Security

Industrial Domain: Energy
IDE.1 | AI for Green Energy curtailment minimization
IDE.2 | Explainable fault detection and classification in power grids
IDE.3 | Combine AI with LLM for clear human interaction with complex data
IDE.4 | LLM based data queries and visualization

Industrial Domain: Manufacturing
IDM.1 | Adversarial Robustness Metrics and Evaluation for AI-Driven Safety Systems
IDM.2 | Bias-aware People Detection: Quantifying and Mitigating Dataset and Model Biases Towards Safety Certification
IDM.3| Explainable Uncertainty-Aware Decision-Making for AI Systems in Manufacturing
IDM-A.AI.4 | Multimodal AI for Human-State Monitoring
IDM-A.AI.5 | Egocentric perception for shopfloor operators

Industrial Domain: Space
IDS.1 | Detection of potential water illegal abstractions using Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation
IDS.2 | Causal Machine Learning model to identify agricultural practices aiding in yield productivity improvement using Earth Observation (EO) data
IDS.3 | Advancing Eelgrass Monitoring Using Stationary High-Altitude Balloons and Hyperspectral AI-based Earth Observations
IDS.4 | Enhancing natural disaster response through satellite-based earth observation and language models

Further details regarding the proposed scientific challenges, research activities, and expected results can be found in the oc4-2025-TES-02_Catalogue_of_Challenges. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of activities to be implemented should be between TRL2 and TRL4.

In summary, the ENFIELD Exchange Scheme Open Call (oc4-2025-TES-02) provides mobility funding for researchers to conduct foundational AI research within ENFIELD partner organizations. The call supports research aligned with Green AI, Adaptive AI, Human-Centric AI, and Trustworthy AI, as well as applications in the Energy, Manufacturing, and Space industries. The funding covers a monthly allowance of 2,400 EUR for a period of 3-6 months, enabling researchers to collaborate and strengthen research ties across Europe. The application process involves submitting a proposal, including a video presentation, through the EU Survey platform. Proposals are evaluated based on their innovation, scientific approach, dissemination plan, and the technical capabilities of the applicant. This call aims to foster collaboration and advance AI research by facilitating researcher exchanges within the ENFIELD network.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is targeted towards researchers or groups of researchers. The text mentions "researchers to be funded" and "researcher (or group of researchers) involved in the proposal." It also mentions the possibility of applications submitted by a consortium, implying that research institutions or organizations could also be eligible if they form a consortium to support individual researchers.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically cascade funding. The opportunity provides a mobility allowance to researchers, which functions as a grant to support their research activities at ENFIELD partner organizations.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly required, the opportunity mentions the possibility of an application submitted by a consortium, suggesting that a consortium is an acceptable application format. Therefore, either a single applicant (researcher) or a consortium is possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The opportunity promotes interactions and strengthens research collaboration among researchers across Europe. Therefore, the geographic eligibility is likely EU or at least includes EU countries.

Target Sector: The program targets the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, with a focus on Green AI, Adaptive AI, Human-Centric AI, and Trustworthy AI. It also specifies industrial domains such as Energy, Manufacturing, and Space, where AI applications are of interest.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the scope is European, implying eligibility for researchers based in EU member states and potentially associated countries.

Project Stage: The TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of activities to be implemented is between TRL2 and TRL4. This indicates that the expected project stage is in the research and development phase, specifically moving from technology formulation to technology validation in a lab environment.

Funding Amount: The mobility allowance is 2,400€ per month, with a maximum of 14,400€ in total, for a project duration of 3-6 months. The total budget available for the open call is 1,100,000 €, which is expected to fund at least 76 researchers, with at least 20 beneficiaries selected in this fourth open call. Therefore, the funding range per researcher is variable but capped at 14,400€.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a mobility allowance.

Application Stages: The application process appears to be single-stage, as indicated by "Deadline model single-stage." There is an initial eligibility verification followed by a remote evaluation by senior researchers.

Success Rates: The call aims to select at least 20 beneficiaries out of the total applications received. Given the total budget and the aim to fund at least 76 researchers across all calls, the success rate is likely to be in the 10 to 39% range, but this is an estimation based on the limited information.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This opportunity, the ENFIELD Exchange Scheme Open Call (oc4-2025-TES-02), is a cascade funding mechanism designed to promote research collaboration in Artificial Intelligence across Europe. It provides mobility grants to researchers, enabling them to conduct foundational research activities at ENFIELD partner organizations for a period of 3 to 6 months. The call is open to researchers or groups of researchers working in areas related to Green AI, Adaptive AI, Human-Centric AI, and Trustworthy AI, with applications in the Energy, Manufacturing, and Space sectors. The total budget for this call is 1,100,000 €, and it aims to fund at least 20 beneficiaries, with individual grants capped at 14,400€ (2,400€/month). The application process is a single-stage open call, requiring applicants to submit an online application form and a 2-minute video presentation. The proposals will be evaluated based on their advanced state-of-the-art, scientific approach, dissemination and communication plans, and the technical and creative capacities of the researchers. The research activities should be at TRL levels 2-4. This call is part of the broader ENFIELD project, which aims to establish a European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2025.