Sectoral digital skills academies: Quantum Skills Digital Academy

The DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-QUANTUM-ACADEMY-STEP grant initiative is part of the Digital Europe Programme aimed at creating a European Quantum Skills Digital Academy. Its objective is to meet the increasing demand for expertise in quantum technologies by providing specialized training and bridging the skills gap in this field. The key features of the grant include:

Eligible applicants must form a consortium consisting of at least five entities. This consortium should include three higher education institutions from different EU countries and at least two industry partners, which can include SMEs or startups, as well as research and technology organizations from EU Member States, particularly from widening countries.

The funding type is a lump sum grant with a total budget of €10 million, with a 50% funding rate, meaning the total project budget is expected to reach €20 million. The initiative aligns with existing EU strategies such as the Quantum Flagship and aims at promoting cooperation between academia and industry.

The geographic eligibility encompasses EU Member States and associated countries, but specific names are not mentioned. The primary target sector is quantum technologies, focusing on areas such as quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum communication, and quantum sensing.

The project stage primarily pertains to the development and implementation of educational programs rather than traditional research and development phases. Applications are invited through an open call, with a single-stage submission process, and the final date for submission is September 2, 2025.

Successful proposals are expected to demonstrate strong cross-border collaboration and industry involvement. Furthermore, since the funding requires a 50% co-funding contribution, applicants must secure additional resources to fulfill this requirement.

Outcomes expected from the grant include creating comprehensive academic curricula, providing modular training opportunities, establishing partnerships between educational institutions and industry, and developing outreach programs targeting underrepresented groups. The initiative ultimately aims to establish a robust ecosystem for quantum skills across Europe, supporting the EU's goals of enhancing digital capabilities and preparing a skilled workforce for the future.

This is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) focusing on Advanced Digital Skills (DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08), specifically targeting the establishment of a Sectoral Digital Skills Academy for Quantum Technologies. The type of action is DIGITAL-LS DIGITAL Lump Sum Grants, utilizing a DIGITAL Lump Sum Grant [DIGITAL-AG-LS] model agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline of September 2, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The opening date was April 15, 2025.

The objective of this call is to position the EU as a global leader in quantum technologies by addressing the need for interdisciplinary training, especially for professionals without a traditional quantum physics or engineering background. The Quantum Digital Skills Academy will serve as a central entity providing specialized quantum technologies training and hands-on experience at various levels, contributing to the objectives of the European Declaration on Quantum Technologies in skills development and training.

The scope of the call involves creating a Quantum Digital Academy that offers tailored training opportunities bridging traditional disciplines and quantum technologies. This includes organizing tutorials and hands-on activities for non-quantum experts to gain practical experience with quantum computers, developing summer schools for specialized knowledge acquisition, and supporting education and training activities in quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum communication, and quantum sensing and metrology. The goal is to accelerate knowledge transfer to industry.

Expected outcomes and deliverables include:

Comprehensive academic curricula designed across different levels and for different target groups, implemented at European level, encompassing complete academic programs or smaller modules integrated into larger programs.
Modular short-term training curricula for sector specialists, piloted through relevant training courses at regional or local levels, including targeted training for SMEs and the public sector.
Partnerships and collaboration frameworks between academia, industry (including SMEs), and research institutions to facilitate the large-scale European-wide roll-out of academic programs and short-term trainings.
Facilitated joint educational initiatives and events with industry and research institutions, such as on-the-job experiences, laboratories, mentorship schemes, internship programs, summer schools, bootcamps, visits to facilities, and career days.
Support, integration, and visibility schemes, with a focus on the participation of female students and professionals, talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and people with disabilities.
Training initiatives addressing teaching staff, such as “Teach-the-teacher” training modules for university, VET, and secondary-education teachers.
Communication and awareness-raising activities, including social media campaigns, career orientation, and “technology deep dive sessions” for secondary education students and the general public.
A dedicated landing page on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform to disseminate academy activities, events, and initiatives.
Reports on the impact of the academies’ activities, based on a KPI assessment scheme, and recommendations for policy and investments.
Additional deliverables specific to individual academies’ activities.

The budget for the DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-QUANTUM-ACADEMY-STEP topic is 10,000,000 EUR for the year 2025. It is a single-stage grant, and the indicative number of grants to be awarded is 1.

Conditions for application include:

Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout as described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form in the Submission System.
Eligible Countries: Described in section 6 of the call document.
Other Eligible Conditions: Described in section 6 of the call document.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in section 7 of the call document.
Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds described in section 9 of the call document.
Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in section 4 of the call document.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include:

CALL DOCUMENT
Application form templates:
Standard application form (DEP) available in the Submission System
Detailed budget table (DEP LSII)
Model Grant Agreements (MGA):
Lump Sum MGA
Additional documents:
DEP Work Programmes
DEP Regulation 2021/964
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

There are 57 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

To submit a proposal, applicants must access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button corresponding to the DIGITAL Lump Sum Grants [DIGITAL-LS] or DIGITAL Lump Sum Grant [DIGITAL-AG-LS] model.

A list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) is provided, addressing topics such as eligibility of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from third countries, submission of previous projects, participation in multiple consortia, inclusion of educational platform providers, definition of 'seconded persons', eligibility of development organizations, availability of a detailed budget template, validity of the STEP Seal, participation of non-validated public organizations, reasons for excluding the semiconductor skills academy, number of consortia selected for funding, evaluation of the lump sum budget, participation of non-EU entities, fulfillment of the 50% co-funding requirement, application of Vocational Education Training (VET) institutes, resubmission of proposals in future calls, classification of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), ensuring coherence between training systems and education systems in Member States, integration of green development and ecological footprint elements, requirements for accreditation mechanisms, reporting and audit for self-funding, consortia requirements regarding Türkiye, and the scope of Vocational Education Training (VET) in the Quantum Skills Digital Academy.

For help, applicants can contact the provided FORM, consult the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, or contact the IT Helpdesk for technical issues. The Online Manual offers a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this EU grant opportunity aims to establish a Quantum Digital Skills Academy to provide specialized training in quantum technologies, bridging the gap between traditional disciplines and the quantum field. It seeks to foster interdisciplinary skills, promote EU leadership in quantum technologies, and accelerate their industrial applications through comprehensive training programs, partnerships, and knowledge transfer activities. The call encourages participation from academia, industry, and research institutions to create a sustainable ecosystem for quantum skills development across Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the context of academic curricula and training, eligible applicants could include universities, vocational education and training (VET) institutes, research institutions, industry partners (including SMEs), and potentially public sector organizations. The Q&A section mentions Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and providers of educational platforms as potential participants.

Funding Type: The funding type is a DIGITAL Lump Sum Grant, specifically DIGITAL-LS.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call encourages partnerships and collaboration frameworks between academia, industry (including SMEs), and research institutions. The Q&A section also discusses consortia, implying that a consortium is either required or highly preferred. The partner search announcements further suggest a consortium approach.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The eligible countries are described in section 6 of the call document, which is not provided in the scraped text. However, the call is part of the Digital Europe Programme, suggesting that EU member states and associated countries are likely eligible. The Q&A section mentions that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) located in third countries that are not associated to the Digital Europe Programme can participate in consortia but are not eligible to receive funding.

Target Sector: The target sector is quantum technologies, specifically focusing on skills development and training in quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum communication, and quantum sensing and metrology. The call aims to bridge the gap between traditional disciplines and quantum technologies, targeting domain professionals who may not have a background in quantum physics and engineering.

Mentioned Countries: Türkiye is mentioned in the Q&A section, but only to clarify that there is no specific requirement about participation of Türkiye. The eligibility criteria in terms of eligible countries are indicated in the Call for proposals section.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on development and implementation of training programs and curricula. This includes designing comprehensive academic curricula, modular short-term training curricula, and "Teach-the-teacher" training modules. The activities also involve piloting training courses and establishing partnerships for large-scale roll-out, suggesting a stage of development, validation, and implementation.

Funding Amount: The budget for the DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-QUANTUM-ACADEMY-STEP topic is EUR 10,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by "Open For Submission" and the availability of the submission session. It is a single-stage application process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants for this topic is 1, suggesting a low success rate.

Co-funding Requirement: The Q&A section mentions that beneficiaries must fulfill a 50% co-funding requirement, which can include in-kind contributions or personnel costs such as own salaries. There will be no financial audit nor financial reporting on the self-funded amount. Reporting of Lump Sum based grants is solely technical and based on assessment of completion of actions.

Summary:

This EU funding opportunity, under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) and the Advanced Digital Skills (DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08) call, aims to establish a Quantum Digital Skills Academy. The academy will serve as a central entity providing specialized quantum technologies training and hands-on experience at various levels. The goal is to position the EU as a global leader in quantum technology development and stimulate its industrial applications by addressing the interdisciplinary training needs of professionals, including those without a traditional quantum physics or engineering background.

The academy is expected to deliver comprehensive academic curricula, modular short-term training, partnerships between academia and industry, joint educational initiatives, support schemes for underrepresented groups, training for teaching staff, and communication activities. A dedicated landing page on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform will disseminate the academy's activities. The project should also report on the impact of its activities and provide policy recommendations.

The funding is provided as a lump sum grant of EUR 10,000,000, and projects are expected to secure 50% co-funding. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of September 2, 2025. Consortia are encouraged, and the call is open to eligible entities from EU member states and associated countries. The initiative targets the development and implementation of training programs in quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum communication, and quantum sensing and metrology, aiming to accelerate knowledge transfer to industry.