Recruitment cycle Cohort 2026

Home Funding Calls for proposals Recruitment cycle Cohort 2026 Recruitment cycle Cohort 2026 EMAI4EU Grant Cascade funding Internal navigation General information Submission & evaluation process Further information Task description General Information Opening date 11 December 2025 Deadline model single-stage Deadline date 30 June 2026 17:00 (Brussels time) Open For Submission Expected duration of participation 24 months Total funding available 588 000,00 € Project acronym EMAI4EU Full name of the EU funded project EMotion Artificial Intelligence specialists for EUrope Grant agreement number 101123289 Topic DIGITAL-2022-SKILLS-03-SPECIALISED-EDU - Specialised education programmes or modules in key capacity areas Submission & evaluation process About EMAI4EU EMotion Artificial Intelligence specialists for Europe (EMAI4EU) aims to train the next generation of specialists and innovators in Emotion Artificial Intelligence in Europe. EMAI4EU will achieve this goal by designing and delivering a double-degree master’s programme (ISCED Level 7, 120 ECTS) in Artificial Intelligence with a specialisation in Emotion Artificial Intelligence and a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. About the scholarships EMAI4EU provides eligible students the financial support to take part to the education programme and offers scholarships to promote diversity in terms of gender, age, social and economic background. EMAI4EU’s scholarships allow the greatest number to have access to high-quality education in digital areas and increase diversity among students and future digital experts. The students awarded a scholarship will be financially supported during their two years of studies in the double-degree Masters’ programme offered by EMAI4EU. Types of scholarships available Three types of scholarships are available: 1. half tuition fee waivers which cover 50% of the tuition costs. These funding schemes are designed to reduce financial barriers and support talented students in accessing high-quality education in key digital technology domains, 2. full tuition fee waivers, covering the entire tuition cost for both years, and 3. scholarships of excellence, which include a full tuition fee waiver and a monthly living allowance adjusted according to the cost-of-living index of the host country. The 2026-2028 fees are available here: https://masterschool.eitdigital.eu/admissions/fees How to apply To apply to a EMAI4EU scholarship, candidates must enrol into EMAI4EU master’s programme. Only students enrolled and accepted in EMAI4EU Masters’ programme are eligible to financial support. Enrolment is done via a single application portal. When enrolling to the master’s programme, applicants are given the opportunity to select 3 options as Entry University and 3 options as Exit University with order of priority. It gives students a wider choice: applicants who would not be accepted to their preferred education institution might still be accepted by another education institution. At the same time, as the capacity of each education institution is limited, the multiple-option offer ensures that a high number of applications is processed. To apply to the EMAI4EU Master’s programme, candidates are required to upload into the application portal the following documentation: 1. Degree Certificate/Diploma in its original language and translated into English (If your university does not provide this service, the translation has to be done by an authorised translator and his/her credentials, signature and stamps must be visible in the translated document). In case of ongoing studies, a statement certifying that you are in the final year of your studies. The statement must be written by the degree administration office (or equivalent department) confirming that you are enrolled on the final year of your education and giving your expected completion date. Note: If applying to Aalto as entry, your bachelor degree must be completed by July 31, 2026. 3. Mandatory technical prerequisites for admission to the programme: https://masterschool.eitdigital.eu/admissions/relevant-field-of-studies 4. Official and stamped transcript of records in original language and translated into English. All courses taken must be included. Please scan the front and back of every document- all stamps and signatures must be fully visible. 4. Proof of English proficiency. The requirement of English proficiency will vary depending on the higher education institution/country selected by the applicant. Please refer to EITD Master School website ‘Admissions’ tab for more information. 5. Curriculum Vitae including details on your academic and professional career. 6. A letter of motivation (maximum 3 pages) to prove the innovative potential of the applicant and their need for financial support. In this letter applicants will be required to discuss and/or propose an entrepreneurial idea and to explain their financial situation and need for financial support. 7. Supporting documents regarding the applicant’s financial situation (e.g. credit report). 8. An official ID, such as passport or National ID. Master School Scholarship allocation process Applicants apply for the scholarships directly in their application for the Master School. The highest-ranking applicants are offered scholarships and are informed of the outcome at the same time as the Letter of Acceptance is sent, or within one week if a waiting list logic is applied. In this case, the first round of scholarships are announced at the time of the study offer, and the second round of scholarships are offered eight days later, when the deadline to accept/decline the offer has passed for students included in round one. The order of the waiting list is based on the applicants’ ranking as described below. The applicants go through several stages in the evaluation: · Pre-screening: performed by the Admission Officer at the Master School Office (KTH). Includes confirming that the university is recognised/accredited, GPA (Grade Point Average) of at least 70%, and Bachelor's degree is relevant · Evaluation and ranking by programme selection committee (see detailed description below). The selection committee for EMAI4EU consists of 8 members. · General requirements check: performed by the KTH admission office under the lead of the Admission Officer at the Master School Office. Includes confirmation of documents provided by the applicant. Selected students eligible to financial support will be required to sign an agreement with the EIT Digital Master School outlining their rights and obligations under the scholarship scheme. Failure to comply with the terms of this agreement may result in the termination of financial support and/or recovery of funds. In line with the provisions of the EU Digital Europe Programme Model Grant Agreement, the EMAI4EU project operates under the standard terms and conditions applicable to EU-funded projects, set out in Articles 12 (Conflict of Interest), 13 (Confidentiality and Security), 14 (Ethics), 17.2 (Visibility), 18 (Specific Rules for Carrying Out the Action), 19 (Information), and 20 (Record-Keeping) of the EMAI4EU Grant Agreement apply equally to all selected students eligible to financial support. Eligibility requirements EMAI4EU scholarships are available to nationals of one of the eligible countries: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)) Listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (associated countries) Only students enrolled and accepted in EMAI4EU Masters’ programme are eligible to financial support. When receiving their letter of acceptance and study offer, students will be notified of their scholarship allocation. Evaluation and ranking by the programme selection committee The selection committee for each programme consists of the local programme responsible from each participating university. One member is appointed the role of Programme Lead. All evaluation is noted in the application portal, administrated by the Master School Office. The Programme Lead assigns applicants to the selection committee members in the portal, based on the applicant’s university preferences stated in their application. Each member evaluates their assigned applicants and gives them a grade for each criterion. Based on the evaluation result, the Programme Leads assigns each applicant an entry university and an exit university as well as a final quantitative grade based on the two universities ranking of the applicant. All applicants are placed on a single, unified merit-based ranking list after the evaluation process. No separate ranking lists are created for women, RIS applicants, or any other subgroup. Gender and RIS status are used only as priority conditions in cases of equal final merit score. This ensures the process remains strictly merit-based while still supporting the diversity objectives of the programme. Selection criteria The criteria used when evaluating which candidates should be nominated for a scholarship, is the following: Criteria Weight Evaluation range Suitability of acquired Bachelor’s degree for intended study programme 1 1-5 Quality and recognition of home university 1 1-5 Study success[1] 1 1-5 Entrepreneurial and Innovative experience (CV, Recommendations) 1 1-5 Innovative and Entrepreneurial attitude (Letter of Motivation) 1 1-5 Overall evaluation of CV and application 1 1-5 The evaluation range for each criteria is 1 – Non-satisfactory, 2 – Borderline, 3 – Admissible, 4 – Very good, 5 – Excellent. The initial merit score value will be an average of the two merit scores assigned by the two Local Programme Coordinators accepting an applicant (the Local Coordinator at the Entry University and the Local Coordinator at the Exit University). The merit scores assigned by Local Programme Coordinators will be reviewed by Programme Leaders to ensure uniformity between the scores given by Local Programme Coordinators from different universities and different countries. A final meeting including the Programme Leaders, all Local Programme Coordinators and the Quality Assurance Manager of the EMAI4EU project will be set at the end of each Recruitment Period to agree and deliberate on the final merit score of each applicant. Students given an average grade of 3 are considered admissible, unless other objections were put forth by a partner university. The Master School Office makes a proposal for distributions of each category of scholarship per Master programme, according to the ranking lists provided by each Master programme’s selection committee and distribution of scholarships per entry universities as decided upon by the consortia. Other factors taken into consideration when there is a tie between two applicants based on their ranking are: Gender (female applicants are favored as they are a minority), Citizenship in RIS countries. Promotion of diversity in terms of gender, social and economic background Supporting students while promoting diversity, the scholarship programme will promote diversity in terms of gender, age, social and economic background. To achieve this objective, the EMAI4EU scholarship programme will include different scholarship opportunities, including: · an overarching scholarship programme - available to any applicant from any EU country or EU associated country, · a scholarship programme for women - available only to female applicants from any EU country or EU- associated country, · a scholarship programme for participants from RIS countries - available only to applicants from country included in the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS). The scholarship programme for women aims to increase female participation in master’s programmes in Computer Science and Engineering in Europe. EMAI4EU has the target to reach at least 30% of female scholarship recipients. The scholarship programme for participants from RIS countrie [... συνέχεια στην επίσημη πρόσκληση]