For our Pledgers and the Talents following the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative we would like to draw your attention to this funding opportunity.
As part of the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), the European Commission (EC) has launched its eighth Call for Proposals on Advanced Digital Skills including a total budget of 7 million EUR to help build a digital skills academy in GenAI.
The AI Skills Academy will contribute to the objectives of the AI Innovation package launched in January 2024 and support the upcoming Apply AI Strategy part of the Political Guidelines of the President of the European Commission. It will empower undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students, as well as current and future sector and ICT specialists in SMEs, startups, and the public sector with basic and advanced skills for developing, deploying and applying AI models and applications in their field.
It will set up a one-stop-shop for a range of activities supporting or developing educational and training schemes in two main focus areas:
- Skills for the uptake and deployment of AI and, in particular, GenAI in key economic sectors (covered by the first call titled ‘Digital Skills Academy in GenAI’, to open on 15 April 2025)
- Skills related tothe AI Factories facilities, complementing the work of the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy (to be covered by a second call in Q4 2025)
Under the two above focus areas, the academy will develop and implement learning modules and short-term trainings on AI foundation model development and work in close coordination with and further support the work of the AI Factories initiative which will deploy an AI-focused, tailor-made supercomputing service infrastructure aimed at further developing the innovation capabilities and skills of the AI ecosystem.
The academy will cooperate with existing initiatives, among others, the AI-on-Demand Platform, the Networks of Excellence in AI, the European Digital Innovation Hubs, and all the EuroHPC Factories, including for the use of their services and facilities for the proposed training activities, and could conduct additional activities on educating the general public on how to use AI and in particular GenAI technologies safely and responsibly.
While European AI start-ups, key industrial players and public authorities acknowledge the transformative potential of GenAI, most of these large AI models are currently built outside of the European Union, where companies have easier access to high amounts of computing power, large datasets, and the skills needed to develop and train the underlying algorithms. Furthermore, most EU professionals are still not familiar with the use and impact of this technology in their work environment. Understanding and adopting AI and GenAI technologies is of paramount importance for achieving the digital transformation across the EU.
Proposals are expected to focus on activities within the following three pillars:
- Pillar 1: Knowledge, education, and training
- Complement existing information on the skills needs and existing gaps
- Design educational programs and trainings in (Gen)AI development and deployment across sectors
- Implement or pilot programs and trainings + offer scholarships and returnships for women, and opportunities for the unemployed
- Pillar 2: Building the ecosystem
- Enable and promoting the establishment of AI fellowship schemes for PhDs abroad
- Leverage the ecosystem to pilot an AI apprenticeship program in EU companies and organisations
- Organise an outreach campaign tailored at European AI experts and specialists abroad
- Pillar 3: Measuring progress
- Develop a robust methodology to monitor progress in closing the AI skills gaps
- Suggest adjustments to the Academy based on the monitoring results
The Digital Skills Academy GenAI Call is open to consortiums comprised of partners who can demonstrate complementary roles in the proposal and demonstrate an outstanding track record in their respective fields. Consortiums are also highly recommended to include, at least:
- Two degree awarding higher education institution from an eligible country which are part of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
- Two industry partners whose headquarters are located in an eligible country
- One independent research organisation/hub or competence/excellence centre in AI
- One Vocational Education and Training (VET) institution.
The involvement of public sector organisations in the consortium can be also considered.
Partners
