DIGITAL Europe Program 9th Call for Advanced Digital Skills

DIGITAL Europe Program 9th Call for Advanced Digital Skills

On 9 October 2025, the European Commission and HaDEA, the Commission’s Health and Digital Executive Agency, announced the 9th set of open calls under the Digital Europe Program. A total of just over €204 million will go towards projects aiming to boost the deployment and uptake of key and innovative digital technologies throughout the EU Member States. The calls in this set opened on 4 November 2025, with a deadline set for 3 March 2026 at 17:00h CET. Two calls are explicitly focusing on fostering the development of advanced digital skills:

• ELEVATE: European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies (DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-LEAGUE-OF-ACADEMIES)

• European Advanced Digital Skills Competitions (DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-COMPETITIONS)

Info Day for the 9th round of the Advanced Digital Skills Call for Proposals on 1 December: register now at https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/InfoDay_December_2025

On 1 December 2025, the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, on behalf of the European Commission, is organizing the Info Day for the 9th Digital Europe Call for Advanced Digital Skills (DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09)under the Digital Europe Program. Register here!

• Start to find partners and join a consortia, join the online discussions on the Partner for DIGITAL Skills Networking Group

About the DIGITAL Europe Program

Developments in key and emerging technologies are changing the way we define digital skills and the extent to which we depend on technology. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the existing shortage of digital experts in Europe

The Digital Europe Program provides strategic funding to answer these challenges and supports the development of a skilled talent pool of digital experts. With a total budget of €580 million for digital skills over 7 years, the Digital Europe Program enhances cooperation between EU Member States and stakeholders in digital skills and jobs through:

• Specialized education programs in key digital areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, quantum and High Performance Computing (HPC), provided by networks of higher education institutions, research centers and businesses (€120 million contribution over the first two years of the program).

• Short-term training courses, tailored to the needs of businesses, with an emphasis on SMEs in Europe, as well as jobseekers and citizens looking to reskill (€25 million contribution over the first two years of the program).

These actions have 3 common goals:

1. Increasing capacity and excellence of EU education and training institutions

2. Encouraging cooperation between higher education, research and businesses

3. Sparking interest of Europeans in digital careers and attract the best talents.

All the funded projects will be showcased on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform.