UPRAISE: Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) call for International Mobility, Type of financial support: Students Outgoing, Cycle 1 – Academic Y...

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) is offering UPRAISE Financial Support to Third Parties (Cycle 1) providing nine mobility grants with a total FSTP budget of €15,000 to enrolled URJC students for international learning activities aligned with Virtual Worlds, XR, AI, digital twins and related digital innovation. Grants cover 50% of eligible activity costs (maximum grants: €2,500 for PhD, studies, internships or thesis mobility and €1,000 for winter/summer schools or blended intensive programmes) and are paid as lump sums in two instalments (80% at start, 20% after verified completion). Eligible costs include enrolment/participation fees, travel, accommodation, subsistence and travel/medical insurance; durable equipment, pre-award costs and double funding with EU sources are ineligible. Applications must be submitted online via the URJC UPRAISE project website before 02:00 Brussels time on 4 December 2026 and are evaluated against academic record, motivation and experience with a minimum threshold of 70/100.

What it funds

Purpose

Financial support for enrolled Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) students to carry out outgoing international learning and mobility activities within the UPRAISE consortium, focused on Virtual Worlds, XR, AI, digital twins and related advanced digital innovation.

Footnotes

1. 1Cycle 1 FSTP covers 50% of eligible activity costs; recipients must provide the remaining 50% from own funds or other compatible, non-EU sources. Full Regulatory Bases and application form at the project website.

Call identification and context

Overview

Funding, modalities and amounts

Eligible activities and eligible costs

Only costs directly linked to the approved mobility/learning activity are eligible. Eligible cost categories: enrolment or participation fees; travel; accommodation; living/subsistence during the activity; travel insurance or international medical coverage. Ineligible: durable equipment, expenses unrelated to the activity, and costs incurred before the grant award. No double funding of the same costs with EU funds is permitted.

Who can apply and key eligibility criteria

Application process, required documents and submission

Applications must be submitted electronically through the online application form on the project website. Electronic submission, including electronic confirmation of declarations, is the equivalent of signature under the call Bases.

Evaluation, scoring and selection

Eligibility checks are followed by scoring; applications passing eligibility are scored out of 100 points. Minimum quality threshold for funding: 70/100. Scoring breakdown: Academic background 65 points (weighted average grade, adjusted by ratio of earned to expected ECTS); Motivation and expected contribution 25 points (motivation letter, alignment with UPRAISE themes and expected contribution); Additional academic and non-academic experience 10 points (CV).

In case of ties (equal merit), the selection committee applies diversity-promoting tie-break criteria in this order: female applicants; applicants with a non-ICT background; applicants from low socio-economic backgrounds; applicants with a disability; applicants from low-DESI countries; applicants belonging to minority groups. The committee documents the rationale. Gender, age and socio-economic information are provided voluntarily and processed under GDPR for monitoring and inclusive selection.

Results, redress and legal notice

A provisional resolution with scores, reserve list and non-selected/excluded applicants will be published on the URJC project website and applicants will be notified individually by e-mail. After the appeals period, a final resolution stating awards and next steps will be published. Applicants may file an internal complaint to the URJC UPRAISE project team within one month of notification; judicial remedies remain available.

Data protection and contacts

Administrative and categorical extraction

The following describes the opportunity in structured categorical terms to aid filtering and eligibility checks.

Evaluation and reporting specifics

Practical advice and summary

Students enrolled at URJC who plan outgoing mobility or participation in UPRAISE-relevant activities (PhD research visits, study or internship mobility, thesis work abroad, winter/summer schools, or Business Innovation Projects) should prepare an activity plan and an estimated budget consistent with eligible cost categories, gather modality-specific acceptance documentation, and ensure they can co-finance 50% of eligible costs. Applications are scored principally on academic background and motivation aligned with UPRAISE themes; high academic performance and a tightly aligned motivation and activity plan improve chances of selection.

This call is administered by URJC under the UPRAISE project and published on the EU portal for visibility. Applicants must follow URJC submission rules and the regulatory bases available on the project website. For clarifications use info@ciberimaginario.es or consult the project pages UPRAISE URJC project page and UPRAISE project website 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, annexes and the online application form are published on the URJC project page: ciberimaginario.es (official repository for application submission and all regulatory bases).

Opportunity overview

The UPRAISE Financial Support to Third Parties call provides mobility grants to students enrolled at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos for international learning activities within the UPRAISE consortium. The scheme supports international academic collaboration, employability and advanced digital skills development in areas including Virtual Worlds, extended reality, artificial intelligence, digital twins and related digital innovation. The UPRAISE project is implemented by a consortium of 26 partners from 11 countries and focuses on training and innovation in immersive technologies.1

The call is a project-level cascade funding opportunity rather than a direct European Union action. It is launched, managed and funded directly by UPRAISE under its own responsibility. Publication on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal is intended to increase visibility and does not constitute approval of the call conditions by the European Commission or another EU authority.

Key facts

Funding structure

Cycle 1 contains three funding modalities. Each grant covers 50 percent of the total eligible cost of the approved activity, subject to the maximum amount for the selected modality. The student must finance the remaining 50 percent from personal resources or other compatible non-EU sources.

The maximum eligible activity cost is therefore €5,000 for a grant of €2,500 and €2,000 for a grant of €1,000. The overall potential activity budget is €30,000, consisting of €15,000 in FSTP support and €15,000 in student co-financing.

Who can apply

Applicants must be formally enrolled at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in an eligible doctoral, masters or bachelors programme. The study status and proposed activity must correspond to the selected funding modality.

Applicants must hold the nationality of an EU Member State or a country eligible under the Digital Europe Programme. The applicant must also have an academic profile and proposed activity that are relevant to UPRAISE themes, particularly Virtual Worlds, XR, AI, digital twins or advanced digital innovation.

Applicants must have adequate language skills for the proposed activity. The normal expectation is at least B2 level, unless the host institution or activity requires a different level.

The proposed mobility must be international, academically credible and sufficiently connected to the objectives of UPRAISE. The activity should provide a clear learning, research, training, internship or thesis benefit rather than merely support general travel.

Eligible activities and costs

Eligible activities include outgoing PhD mobility, periods of study, internships, thesis-related mobility, winter or summer schools and blended intensive programmes, provided that the activity is approved under the relevant modality and aligned with UPRAISE objectives.

Eligible costs are limited to costs directly related to the approved activity.

Durable equipment, unrelated expenditure and costs incurred before the grant award are not eligible. The call is intended to support the mobility or learning activity itself and does not provide a general-purpose student allowance.

Funding conditions and payment

The grant is awarded as a lump sum. The support is not calculated through reimbursement of individual invoices, and the available information indicates that itemised cost documentation is not required for the final justification.

Payment is made in two instalments. Eighty percent is paid at the start of the activity and 20 percent is paid after positive verification of the final justification.

The final justification is based on evidence that the activity was completed, including a host certificate of participation or completion and a brief final report. Failure to carry out the activity or failure to comply with reporting obligations may result in partial or full recovery of the grant.

Other funding and double funding

The grant may be combined with Erasmus+ or other compatible support only where the different funding sources cover different eligible costs. The same cost may not be financed twice through European Union funding. Applicants must disclose relevant support and provide the required declaration of co-financing, commitments and honour.

Application process

Applications must be submitted electronically through the online application form provided on the URJC UPRAISE project website. Electronic submission is the sole valid application channel. Completion and submission of the form, together with electronic confirmation of the declarations, constitutes the equivalent signature accepted under the regulatory bases.

Applications should be submitted before 02:00 Brussels time on 4 December 2026. Applicants should not wait until the final hours because missing documents, unreadable files or an incomplete submission may prevent the application from passing the eligibility check.

Required documents

Documents must be provided in PDF format and may be submitted in Spanish or English. Applicants should ensure that the activity plan, budget and supporting evidence are consistent with each other and clearly identify the host organisation, destination, dates, purpose, expected learning outcomes and anticipated costs.

Evaluation and selection

Applications first undergo an eligibility check. Eligible applications are then scored out of 100 points using the following criteria.

An application must achieve at least 70 out of 100 points to meet the minimum quality threshold. Meeting the threshold does not guarantee funding because the number of grants is limited to nine and awards depend on ranking and available budget.

Where applications receive equal scores, diversity considerations may be used solely as a tie-breaker. The stated order of preference is female applicants, applicants with a non-ICT background, applicants from low socio-economic backgrounds, applicants with a disability, applicants from low-DESI countries and applicants belonging to minority groups. The selection committee must document the rationale for the tie-break decision.

Information on gender, age and socio-economic background is voluntary and is intended for confidential diversity monitoring and inclusive selection under GDPR requirements.

Results, appeals and redress

A provisional resolution is expected to be published on the URJC UPRAISE project website. It will identify scores, the reserve list and non-selected or excluded applications, with individual notification by email.

Following the appeals period, a final resolution will be published through the same channels. The final decision should state the outcome, amount awarded and next steps for successful applicants.

Interested parties may file an internal complaint with the URJC UPRAISE project team within one month of notification. Applicants may also resort to the competent courts.

Applicant assessment

This opportunity is most suitable for URJC students who already have a well-defined international activity and can demonstrate a strong connection with advanced digital skills, immersive technologies or related innovation themes. The strongest applications are likely to combine a high academic record with a specific host or activity, clear learning outcomes and a credible co-financing plan.

The principal financial limitation is the 50 percent funding rate. Applicants must be able to secure the balance of the activity cost and should budget conservatively because the grant ceiling does not increase if actual costs exceed the maximum supported amount.

The lump-sum model reduces administrative burden because final justification focuses on completion evidence rather than a full cost report. However, this also makes completion of the approved activity and timely reporting central conditions of payment and retention of the grant.

Applicants should verify the detailed regulatory bases and modality-specific call before submission, particularly the precise requirements for host acceptance, learning agreements, eligible study programmes, activity dates and any conditions applicable to the selected mobility type.1

Data protection and contacts

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos is the data controller. Personal data are processed to administer evaluation, selection, payment, justification and reporting for the FSTP-UPRAISE-URJC programme. Data may be shared with the European Commission, HaDEA, UPRAISE beneficiaries and host institutions where applicable.

Data are retained during implementation and for five years after the final balance. Applicants may exercise rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection before URJC and may complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency.

Overall conclusion

UPRAISE Cycle 1 is a targeted mobility grant scheme for URJC students rather than a broad open call for organisations. It offers nine awards with a total FSTP budget of €15,000, supports up to 50 percent of approved eligible activity costs and requires students to provide the remaining co-financing. The competitive assessment places greatest weight on academic performance, followed by motivation and thematic contribution, making academic results, activity relevance and a complete implementation plan the main determinants of success.

The opportunity is financially attractive for students with a suitable international activity because payment is partly advanced and justification is based principally on completion. The main risks are limited grant availability, the requirement to finance half of the activity, strict thematic and enrolment eligibility, the prohibition on double funding and potential recovery if the activity or reporting obligations are not completed.

1 The official project page describes UPRAISE as an EU-funded initiative focused on digital competencies, immersive technologies and Virtual Worlds training, and identifies URJC and the Ciberimaginario Research Group as key project actors. Detailed Cycle 1 conditions should be checked in the regulatory bases and modality-specific documents published by URJC.