Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme

NDICI-2026-MOBAF Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme is a forthcoming single-stage NDICI unit grant call managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency to fund four-year mobility and institutional cooperation projects led by Sub-Saharan African higher education institutions with one EU HEI as technical partner. The call has an indicative budget of €24.75 million, a maximum grant per project of €1.45 million, and uses unit contributions for scholarships and institutional support (e.g. €890/month for master students, €1,230/month for doctoral candidates and trainees, €2,370/month for staff, and €900 per mobility-month institutional contribution). Eligible consortia must include five to seven beneficiaries, a Sub-Saharan African coordinator, at least four African HEIs from a minimum of three eligible countries representing at least two regions, and one EU technical partner, and projects must address up to two Global Gateway priorities in Climate and Energy, Digital, Transport or Health. Applications are submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with Part B limited to 70 pages and a planned submission deadline of 2 February 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time.

What it funds

Grants to consortia of Higher Education Institutions to set up and run intra‑African learning mobility for Master students, doctoral candidates, trainees and staff, and to strengthen institutional capacity for international partnership, recognition of studies, career services and HEI‑business cooperation in Global Gateway priority sectors (Climate and Energy, Digital, Transport, Health).

Who can apply

Proposals must be submitted online through the Funding & Tenders Portal using the NDICI MOBAF application templates. Project duration normally 48 months. Page limit for Part B: 70 pages.

Contacts & documents

Call documentation, calculator and templates are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme. For content questions contact EACEA-IntraAfrica-IntraACP@ec.europa.eu.

Footnotes

1. 1Total indicative budget for this 2026 call year as published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Basic facts and timeline

What this programme funds (scope and expected impact)

Who may apply and consortium rules (eligibility)

Eligible activities and mobility modalities

Funded activities must take place within the eligibility period fixed in the Grant Agreement and follow the programme rules. Core categories funded (unit contributions): A. Contributions for scholarships: monthly unit contributions to scholarship holders (Master students, Doctoral candidates, trainees, staff). B. Institutional contribution: monthly unit contribution to cover project management, coordination, communication, insurance for scholarship holders, administrative support, promotion, tuition/participation costs, research support and other costs needed to implement the mobility plan. C. Contributions for special needs: lumped unit categories to cover individual special needs for certified disabilities (several predefined banded amounts; case-by-case assessment possible).

Unit contribution amounts and budget rules

The grant is a unit grant based on authorised unit contributions. Applicants must use the official NDICI MOBAF budget calculator to compute the maximum grant amount. Unit contribution methodology and calculator templates are provided in the call annexes and the Submission System.

Application and evaluation — forms, admissibility and award criteria

Award rules and selection priorities

Proposals must align to Global Gateway country- or regional-level priorities selected from the call (Climate & Energy, Digital, Transport, Health) and may cover up to two priorities. Applicants must demonstrate a needs assessment, explain priority selection and show unique added value (innovation, scalability, HEI–business cooperation, multi-country cooperation, local impact). Projects are expected to prioritise inclusion (women, students with fewer opportunities and persons with special needs), gender balance in scholarship holders (minimum targets set), and widening participation to institutions/countries with limited prior MOBAF experience.

Eligible countries and geographic scope

Beneficiaries must be established in eligible countries. The call is implemented through partnerships of Sub-Saharan African HEIs and one EU HEI as technical partner. Eligible geographic scope for scholarship holders includes African nationals and residents; associated partners may also be from North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) where indicated by the call rules. Applicants must consult the country-by-country Global Gateway priority mapping annex and the Team Europe Initiative / Regional flagship lists and, if connecting to a regional priority, demonstrate relevance to the countries concerned.

Project maturity, duration and targets

Funding type, co-funding and forms of support

Application process, templates and practical guidance

Evaluation, scoring and likely success factors

Checks, audits, ethics and legal provisions

Eligible applicant types (detailed)

Funding type

Consortium requirement

Beneficiary geographic eligibility (beneficiary scope)

Target sector(s) and cross-cutting priorities

Project stage and maturity expected

Funding amount (range / ceilings)

Application type and submission method

Nature of support to beneficiaries

Beneficiaries receive monetary support via an EU unit grant that reimburses unit contributions for scholarship months, institutional monthly contributions, and special needs banded contributions. Non-monetary support expected: technical support from the EU technical partner (knowledge transfer, capacity building), networking, visibility and links to Team Europe Initiatives and Global Gateway flagships. The grant is designed to cover the costs of mobility delivery as defined in the budget calculator and Annexes.

Application stages and evaluation flow

Success rates

Co-funding requirement

Application form structure and templates (how Part B looks)

Part B (technical description) template (downloadable from Submission System) mirrors the award criteria and contains the following main sections: Project summary; 1. Relevance (objectives & priorities, needs analysis, complementarity); 2. Design (concept, methodology, cross-cutting issues, risk management); 3. Implementation (consortium set-up, project teams, management, monitoring & evaluation, cost-effectiveness, communication); 4. Sustainability (impact, follow-up, replication); 5. Workplan and Work Packages (detailed WP descriptions, deliverables, milestones, timing, resources); 6. Ethics and security; 7. Declarations. Annexes to upload: NDICI calculator (budget), List of Academic Programmes (xls), List of previous projects, any accreditation evidence. Part B must not exceed 70 pages; mandatory fonts / margins / formatting rules apply and are specified in the template. The NDICI calculator computes the maximum eligible grant based on person-months per mobility type and special needs units.

Key operational expectations from applicants (what evaluators look for)

Support and contact points

Quick checklist for prospective applicants

Footnotes

1. 1Maximum grant amount per project: €1,450,000. Use the NDICI MOBAF Calculator provided in the call annexes in the Submission System to compute the actual maximum eligible grant amount for your proposal.

Opportunity summary

NDICI-2026-MOBAF is a forthcoming single-stage EU action grant under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, Global Europe. It supports four-year mobility and institutional cooperation projects led by Sub-Saharan African higher education institutions, with one EU Member State higher education institution acting as a technical partner. It is not a direct scholarship call for individuals.

The opportunity is designed to increase skills and qualifications across Africa, improve the quality and internationalisation of higher education, strengthen links between higher education and employers, and support cross-border mobility in areas connected to Global Gateway priorities.

The official opportunity information identifies the call as an NDICI unit grant action managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. The call documentation and unit-cost decision should be treated as controlling where the portal summary and supporting materials differ.1

Key facts

Purpose and policy context

The action forms part of the Youth Mobility for Africa flagship under the Global Gateway Africa Europe Investment Package. It supports the development of skilled graduates, highly qualified professionals and researchers while strengthening African higher education networks, recognition of qualifications, regional integration and skills circulation.

Projects should connect academic mobility and institutional development to concrete country or regional investment and employment priorities. Education and research are considered a horizontal component of the action, while proposals must focus on no more than two Global Gateway priorities from the eligible sector areas.

Eligible priority sectors

The eligible sector areas are Climate and Energy, Digital, Transport and Health. The proposal must select a maximum of two relevant country or regional priorities and demonstrate why those priorities are appropriate for the participating countries and institutions.

Applicants relying on a Sub-Saharan Africa regional priority must demonstrate its relevance to the countries concerned. Applicants are also expected to examine relevant Team Europe Initiatives and Regional Global Gateway flagship projects and link the proposal to such initiatives where appropriate.

Examples of relevant regional themes include renewable energy and electricity systems, climate resilience, sustainable agrifood value chains, digital governance and connectivity, digital health, health systems, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, sustainable transport, transport corridors and trade facilitation.

Country priorities must be checked against the official 2026 and 2027 Global Gateway priority mapping. The proposal should not merely name a sector. It should explain the skills gap, the affected economic or public service system, the role of the participating HEIs, and the pathway from mobility and institutional cooperation to measurable country or regional results.

Who can apply

Eligible beneficiaries must be legal entities established in an eligible EU Member State or eligible Sub-Saharan African country. Each participating higher education institution must be accredited by the competent national authorities, provide postgraduate education at master and or doctoral level, and award qualifications recognised by the relevant national authorities.

The coordinator must be a Sub-Saharan African higher education institution. The consortium must include five to seven beneficiaries, excluding affiliated entities, and must comply with the prescribed geographic and institutional composition.

Eligible applicant countries

Consortium requirements

Associated partners and external stakeholders

Associated partners must be established in Africa, including North African countries. They may include additional higher education institutions, research centres, centres of excellence, university associations, ministries, public authorities, chambers of commerce, enterprises and international organisations. They do not count towards the minimum or maximum number of beneficiaries.

The strongest proposals are likely to involve employers, public agencies and sector organisations as meaningful contributors to traineeships, skills forecasting, curriculum development, applied research, career services and long-term sustainability. Their role should be specific and evidenced rather than limited to a general letter of support.

What the grant funds

The action funds the organisation and implementation of international mobility for master students, doctoral candidates, trainees and higher education staff. It also funds institutional activities needed to manage the mobility scheme, improve participating institutions and achieve the expected results.

Eligible institutional activities include consortium governance, international office development, curriculum comparison and harmonisation, academic recognition systems, quality assurance, selection and support services, cooperation with businesses, career services, research and knowledge transfer, dissemination, monitoring and sustainability planning.

The EU technical partner is expected to provide active knowledge transfer and practical support in academic, administrative and financial management. Its role must go beyond participation in staff mobility and should include clearly defined contributions to private-sector cooperation, research, institutional capacity and the wider higher education ecosystem.

Mobility types and normal duration

Shorter or longer mobility periods may be accepted only where duly justified and authorised by the Agency. At least 25 percent of student scholarship holders are expected to undertake credit-seeking mobility.

Individual mobility must normally be physical and must take place in an eligible Sub-Saharan African country different from the scholarship holder’s country of nationality and country of residence at the time of application. A limited virtual component may be allowed in exceptional circumstances subject to prior authorisation.

Students may undertake credit-seeking mobility or complete a degree at an accredited master or doctoral programme offered by a participating Sub-Saharan African beneficiary HEI. The degree-awarding institution that qualifies the student must be different from the intended host institution.

Trainees must be enrolled in a bachelor, master or doctoral programme at a participating Sub-Saharan African beneficiary HEI. Their placement must be hosted by a public or private organisation in a country of a participating Sub-Saharan African beneficiary HEI, with the host HEI involved in the organisation and academic recognition of the traineeship.

Staff mobility may involve academic, administrative and technical staff of beneficiary HEIs, including the EU technical partner. Staff from Sub-Saharan African beneficiary institutions may not undertake staff mobility to the EU technical partner under this call.

Individual scholarship conditions

Students and trainees must be nationals of and resident in an African country when they apply. This includes North African countries for the purpose of individual eligibility, even though North African higher education institutions are not eligible as beneficiaries under the specified consortium structure.

Student target group 1 consists of students registered at, admitted to, or holding a qualifying degree from a participating beneficiary HEI. Student target group 2 consists of students connected to another African higher education institution that is not a beneficiary but is established in Africa.

Student mobility must be linked to accredited master or doctoral programmes of participating Sub-Saharan African beneficiary HEIs and to the selected project priorities. Study periods, credits, grades and learning outcomes must be recognised through prior learning agreements or research plans.

Scholarship holders cannot receive another EU-funded scholarship for the same activity during the mobility period. Students who previously benefited from a student scholarship under a project selected in the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme 2022 to 2027 are not eligible for another student scholarship under this action.

Recommended inclusion targets

Funding model and amounts

The grant uses unit contributions rather than reimbursement of actual costs. The grant calculator determines the maximum grant from the number of planned mobility participants, the average duration of each mobility and the applicable unit amounts. The three main components are scholarship contributions, institutional contributions and special-needs contributions.

The grant is calculated from eligible unit contributions and is not presented as a conventional percentage reimbursement rate. The available documentation does not identify a separate standard co-financing percentage. Applicants should therefore budget strictly through the official calculator and should not assume that all actual expenditure will be reimbursed separately from the applicable units.2

The call budget may not be fully awarded, and the Agency may redistribute funding or award less than the amount requested depending on the evaluation results and available budget.

Project duration and timetable

Longer projects may be accepted in duly justified cases. Extensions require justification and an amendment to the grant agreement.

Expected results and impact

At system level, projects should improve transparency and recognition of studies, degrees and qualifications, increase knowledge transfer and strengthen information exchange within the African Higher Education and Research Space.

At institutional level, projects should strengthen international offices, mobility management, career services, quality assurance, curriculum development, research networks, higher education and business cooperation, and the ability of participating institutions to manage international partnerships.

At individual level, projects should improve knowledge, skills, competences and employability, increase women’s participation and postgraduate attainment, and widen access for people with special needs or vulnerable status.

Core implementation obligations

Application requirements

Applications must be submitted electronically through the Funding and Tenders Portal. Paper applications are not accepted. Applicants must use the forms and templates generated in the Submission System, rather than relying on informational copies displayed on the topic page.

The application package normally includes Part A with administrative information and a summary budget, Part B with the technical proposal, the detailed budget calculator, the list of key previous projects from the last four years, the list of academic programmes, participant mandates and the required declarations and supporting documents.

Part B is limited to 70 pages. Evaluators will disregard content beyond the page limit. The proposal should be concise, readable, accessible and printable, with clear cross-references between needs, activities, mobility flows, outputs, indicators, budget and sustainability.

Each beneficiary must register in the Participant Register before submission and must be validated by the Central Validation Service. Applicants should allow sufficient time for legal entity validation, participant roles, mandates, bank account information and any financial capacity checks.

Evaluation and award criteria

Proposals must reach the overall threshold and will then be considered for funding in ranking order within the available budget. The call information indicates that the detailed minimum thresholds and assessment approach are described in the call document. A proposal can therefore fail despite a strong concept if it is weak in implementation capacity, operational planning or sustainability.

What evaluators are likely to require

Key risks and compliance points

Recommended preparation plan

Overall assessment

This is a substantial institutional cooperation and mobility opportunity for established African HEI networks rather than a conventional research grant or individual scholarship call. The strongest applicants will combine a tightly evidenced Global Gateway skills agenda with a credible multi-country mobility architecture, accredited postgraduate programmes, employer engagement, inclusion measures and a practical plan for institutional change.

The €1.45 million project ceiling is significant but requires disciplined planning because the budget is calculated through fixed unit contributions. Applicants should design the mobility portfolio first, test it in the official calculator, and then align institutional activities, staffing, support services and expected results with the calculated grant.

The main competitive differentiators are likely to be the relevance of the selected country or regional priorities, the quality and additionality of the EU technical partner, the credibility of business and public-sector links, the strength of recognition and quality assurance systems, inclusion performance, and the likelihood that cooperation will continue after the 48-month grant.

Sources and notes

The analysis uses the official Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity information, the 2026 call document, the official Global Gateway priority mapping, the official list of regional Team Europe Initiatives and Global Gateway flagships, and the official NDICI MOBAF unit-cost calculator and unit-contribution decision.

Footnotes

1. 1The official Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity is titled Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme and carries the identifier NDICI-2026-MOBAF. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency programme page confirms that the scheme supports consortia of African higher education institutions and scholarship mobility for African students, trainees and staff.
2. 2The official NDICI MOBAF calculator identifies unit amounts of €890 per month for master students, €1,230 per month for doctoral candidates and trainees, €2,370 per month for staff members, €900 per scholarship holder mobility month for institutional support, and €60,000 per special-needs unit, with a maximum of two special-needs units in the calculator.