FUNDING

Download the full guidelines below.

About

The aim of the call is to stimulate the international and innovative joint educational initiatives that are ECTS credit-bearing in one (or more) of the six ENLIGHT focus areas. 

The call aims for sustainable educational activities in various formats with specific and measurable outputs implemented by October 2027. In the framework of the 2024 and 2025 call 30 education projects were selected.

The third and final call consists of two strands: 

• Strand A: The development of joint study programmes at bachelor’s or master’s level among partner universities. A joint study programme is defined as an integrated curriculum coordinated and offered jointly by different higher education institutions. The aim is to award joint degrees, but proposals with double/multiple degree awarding are also eligible. The joint study programme does not have to be ready to run by the end of the Incubator Grant project period, but a minimum set of deliverables is expected. 

• Strand B: International and innovative joint educational initiatives. This strand is meant to develop educational initiatives that bring innovation and internationalization to teaching. This can comprise seasonal schools, lifelong learning activities, micro-credentials, double degree scheme, and any joint courses in physical, virtual or blended format. The only exception is that this grant cannot be used to develop Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP’s). 

Here you can find tools for helping with individual formats:

• Creating ENLIGHT Lifelong Learning Micro-Credentials
• Toolkit for Virtual and Blended Teaching Formats

Funding

A selected Incubator project will receive a max. budget of 30.000 € (strand A) or 20.000€ (strand B). 

Eligible for funding are the development costs of joint initiatives: purchase costs, personnel costs and (limited) subcontracting costs. 

Duration

Projects define their own timeline but must be completed by October 31, 2027. 

Application deadline

May 15, 2026 

How to apply?

Applications must be submitted by the coordinator of the educational activity using the destined form. 

Available for download are: 

• Strand A: Incubator Grant Strand A Guidelines and Strand A Application Form

• Strand B: Incubator Grant Strand B Guidelines and Strand B Application Form

Please submit your completed application form (as a single .pdf file) before the deadline via the submission form.

Evaluation process

After screening of the eligibility criteria, the proposals will be evaluated and ranked on the basis of the evaluation criteria by a joint selection committee consisting of representatives from all ENLIGHT universities.

Results will be communicated mid July 2026. 

Reporting

Each project is required to submit a final report upon project completion. 

Download the full guidelines below (see heading 'How to apply')

About

The ENLIGHT+ call aims to co-fund small-scale (student) initiatives, aiming to foster the development of various bottom-up projects, including but not limited to those focusing on green and inclusive campus initiatives. The objective is to cultivate a vibrant academic community by offering financial support to academic and non-academic staff, PhD candidates and students. This support is specifically intended to foster new initiatives: joint small-scale projects, collaborative events or workshops.

Funding

Organisational costs and mobility costs not covered by other mobility schemes.

Application deadline

31 January 2026, 31 May 2026, 31 October 2026, 31 January 2027 

Selection criteria

Eligibility criteria

• Involvement of min. 3 ENLIGHT universities (min. 2 for virtual exchange, double degree schemes and microcredential programmes (cluster of programmes))
• New initiative that did not receive any prior funding

Evaluation criteria

• Quality
• Feasibility
• Proposed output
• Added value

How to apply?

• the Full ENLIGHT+ Guidelines
• the Application form

Please upload your completed application form (as a single .pdf file) via https://enlight-eu.org/university-about-us/funding/proposal-submission-form-2026.

Evaluation process

The evaluation process is coordinated by all partner universities, with budget decisions made individually by each applicant's home university.

Results are communicated no later than 6 weeks after the application deadline.

Reporting

Each project is required to provide a short report upon completion.

No further calls in 2026 and 2027.

About

The call aimed to stimulate the creation of interdisciplinary cooperation networks of academics from at least three ENLIGHT universities, who join forces around a specific societal relevant theme, in one (or more) of the six ENLIGHT focus areas to develop joint challenge-driven activities in education, research and service to society.    

Each ENLIGHT Thematic Network (ETN) is expected to set up its own coordination structure and become a catalyst for long-term cooperation leading to various outputs, such as new joint seminars, summer courses, thematic conferences, Bachelor (BA), Master (MA) or PhD courses and programmes, co-supervision of PhDs, collaborative transnational projects, citizen science initiatives, mobility programmes, knowledge transfer programmes, leadership and entrepreneurship programmes, etc.  

In the framework of the 1st call 10 ETN were selected. In the 2nd and final call, 15 ETN were granted.

Funding

A selected ETN receives a maximum budget of 150.000 € in the first call and 100.000 € in the second call.

The budget is meant to cover the coordination and activities of the ETN. Eligible for funding are: purchase costs, personnel costs and (limited) subcontracting costs. 

Duration

36 months for call 2024, 24 months for call 2025. Selected projects run until 1 November 2027.

Deadline for application

No further deadlines in 2026 and 2027

Selection criteria

Eligibility criteria

• Network composition: involvement of min 3 ENLIGHT universities
• Thematic scope: alignment with ENLIGHT’s six focus areas
• Budget distribution: a maximum of 40% of the total requested budget can be assigned to each partner

Evaluation criteria:

• Quality and Relevance
• Network and Team composition
• Feasibility
• Expected outputs and desired impact

How to apply?

Applications must be submitted by the Coordinator of the ETN using the destined form.

Available for download are:

• • the Full ETN Guidelines
  • the Application form

Questions. Please check the below FAQ. Contact your institutional ENLIGHT Coordinator

In case of technical issues, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yes, your proposal can involve as many ENLIGHT institutions as needed. 3 was set as a minimum in all calls. For virtual exchange, double degree schemes and microcredentials, the minimum is 2 ENLIGHT universities. 

Please note that the maximum budget still applies, regardless of the amount of partners involved in your application.

Each proposal requires a main applicant/coordinator to submit it. Multiple applicants from the same university can be involved in an application, as long as there are colleagues involved from at least three partner universities (or two partner universities in the case of virtual exchange, double degree schemes and microcredentials) collaborating on the initiative.

A double degree scheme is an arrangement between two educational institutions where each offers its own separate study programme, rather than a joint study programme. Students can choose to complete part of their studies at a partner institution, allowing them to earn two separate diplomas—one from each institution. The specific terms and structure of the double degree scheme are formalized in an agreement between the partner institutions. This arrangement can apply to both bachelor's and master's programmes.

An integrated curriculum coordinated and offered jointly by different higher education institutions and leading to a joint degree or double/multiple degrees. The joint study programme should lead to new jointly developed programme-level learning outcomes, but can be based on existing and/or newly developed course offer at the respective participating institutions.

Possible outcomes in degree-awarding upon successful completion of the joint study programme:

• • • Joint degree: A single document awarded by higher education institutions offering the joint programme and nationally acknowledged as the recognised award of the joint programme.
    • Double/multiple degrees: Separate degrees awarded by higher education institutions offering the joint programme attesting to the successful completion of the joint programme. If two degrees are awarded by two institutions, this is a ‘double degree’.

Please note that ENLIGHT is funded by Erasmus+ in the frame of the European Universities Initiative. The funding should therefore be linked to activities targeting education, research and service to society. The Erasmus+ funding is not designed to directly pay for any activities related to the preparation or development of applications to any other funding programmes. Pure research projects are not eligible, as there are other funding mechanisms for that. Research should be valorised in education and service to society. We quote from the European Universities call: "The European Universities call targets the strategic transformation of European Universities across all their missions. However, it is not designed to fund the research activities per se - e.g. life science research, applied research and/or social sciences research and humanities research - where ethic approvals are required and should be obtained from ethics committees. Ethics does not apply to this call. The proposals have not been ethically screened (as is the case for the research-related EU grants) - due to the fact that research activities raising ethics issues are not the eligible type of activities to be funded. There are specific funding programmes/mechanisms (eg. Horizon Europe) designed for this purpose."

Applicants should note the main objectives of an alliance:

• • • Promote common European values and a strengthened European identity by bringing together a new generation of Europeans who are able to cooperate and work within different European and global cultures, in different languages, and across borders, sectors and academic disciplines.
    • Reach a substantial leap in quality, performance, attractiveness and international competitiveness and enable deep institutional transformation of involved European higher education institutions and contribute to the European knowledge economy, employment, creativity, culture and welfare by making best use of innovative pedagogies and striving to make the knowledge square4 a reality. European Universities will be key drivers to boost the quality of higher education and where possible to strengthen its links to the research and innovation landscape in Europe and its outreach towards the society and economy.

With this call, ENLIGHT aims to achieve the following specific objective:

Build European knowledge-creating teams (“challenge-based approach”) of academics, possibly together with researchers, students, entrepreneurs, companies, local and regional actors, and civil society actors – depending on the overall strategy and vision of the alliance – working together to address societal and other challenges of their choice in an inter-disciplinary approach through:

• • • Challenge-based approaches combining shared education, teaching and learning, pedagogical innovation, research and innovation and allowing involved parties to work jointly and across disciplines through investigation and invention, thus reinforcing excellence in education and research and engagement with citizens.
    • Innovative learning and training that develop knowledge and equip students, lifelong learners and researchers with critical thinking, entrepreneurial, creative and transversal skills, and innovative spirit relevant for a fast-changing labour market and profound structural transition-driven changes in markets, technologies and society, including through the transfer of research results back into education e.g. in teaching, re-skilling, through student traineeships in research teams.
    • Innovative solutions adaptable to different regions in Europe.

The budget is lump sum funding: this implies that you must provide a realistic cost estimation for your budget. The total amount per partner you propose in the application form is a lump sum: you can spend this lump sum as you see fit, provided the project is carried out as described in your proposal. The records and supporting documents must show that the action tasks have been carried out as described, and by whom. The actual costs of the work are not relevant. General principles for eligible costs: they must be in line with your normal practices, reasonable/not excessive, in line with and necessary for the activities proposed.

The European Commission will not focus on financial and budgetary aspects but on output, results, activities and content reporting. This means, that you must keep records and documents showing which activities were completed and who carried them out. 

The budget share of each partner will be granted by the home university.

The type of costs you can use to calculate your total budget are:

• • • purchase costs: travel, accommodation, subsistence, other goods/works/services: consumables, supplies (other than office equipment), services for meetings/seminars, services for communication/dissemination, website, other
    • personnel costs: for staff employed by an ENLIGHT university
    • subcontracting (limited)

However you still must follow your internal and national financial rules. Please note that practices may differ from one ENLIGHT university to another. 

Research activities per se are not funded, as this is Erasmus+ funding there must be a link with education and service to society.

Double funding is not allowed: a cost item cannot be declared more than once in the budget and a cost cannot be declared under another EU grant.

Having doubts? Please reach out to your institutional ENLIGHT office for assistance.

Yes, the University of Bern is eligible for funding, but since Switzerland is not part of the Erasmus+ program, its funding comes from Swiss Movetia rather than Erasmus+. Each partner receives funding from their home university, with Bern's share specifically covered by Movetia.

When applying, you must allocate the total budget among the partners. For example, if you apply for a Thematic Network with four partners, including Bern, you can divide the maximum budget of €100,000 among them. Each partner will then receive their allocated budget from their respective home university. In Bern's case, their share of this funding will come from Swiss Movetia instead of Erasmus+.

Yes, colleagues from non-ENLIGHT universities can take part in a project proposal and in the proposed activities. However, external partners cannot be granted any ENLIGHT budget and will have to fund their participation with other funding. 

Each call mentions the eligible profiles that can submit a proposal as coordinator. Please refer to the guidelines. 
The coordinator must be entitled to manage a budget at his/her university and remain in position for the duration of the proposed project. 

Please note that regulations differ between the ENLIGHT universities. Please contact your ENLIGHT office in case of doubt. 

Activities funded with the Erasmus+ grant can only take place in eligible countries:

• • • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)).
    • Non-EU countries: third countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme (including EEA countries: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein), countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement to the Erasmus+ programme and where that agreement enters into force before the grant signature (North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey) and
    • Non-EU countries: Western Balkans third countries not associated to the programme: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo (This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.)

Please note that all three calls have different purposes. In general, different types of activities are targeted.

Colleagues can be involved in similar proposals and quality will be the first criterion for selection. However, we do not recommend parallel applications in different calls, if they are submitted by the same group of people about the very same topic and proposing the same activities. In any event, the same activities cannot be double funded.

Further, ENLIGHT+ applications are preferably not used with the only direct purpose to develop another application for one of the ENLIGHT calls (Incubator Grant or ETN). Applicants are encouraged to show ambition, but this ambition should not be to apply only for other ENLIGHT funding.

To prevent double funding, ENLIGHT calls cannot be used to develop Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP’s). Other blended formats are eligible and very welcome. Please contact your ENLIGHT office in case of doubt or questions.