Deadline: 25 June 2020
The European Commission has announced the 2020 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Telecom Call – European Platform for Digital Skills and Jobs.
The objective of this call is to support the design and delivery of Master programmes specialised in digital domains to be disseminated via the Digital Skills and Jobs Core Service Platform. These programmes will target advanced digital skills development to address the lack of highly specialised digital skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence, Member States and the Commission have acknowledged the need of increasing the number of specialised Master programmes in AI to train more people who can enable the deployment of AI throughout the economy.
Objectives
Proposals must address only one of the following objectives:
- Objective 1: Design and deliver a Master programme of 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits in Artificial Intelligence;
- Objective 2: Design and deliver a Master programme of 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits focusing on the use of Artificial Intelligence in a specific sector (for example, but not limited to AI for health, agriculture, manufacturing).
All programmes proposed must:
- Include a course in Artificial Intelligence ethics of ECTS credits, having as a reference the AI ethical guidelines of the European Commission;
- Develop an online version of modules/a course(s) forming part of the Master programme and disseminate it on the Digital Skills and Jobs Core Service Platform.
- Lead to the awarding of a degree from one of the participating universities.
All proposals must address all of the following aspects:
- Design the framework of the Master programme and its learning outcomes, and detail how excellence of the academic content will be ensured through the cooperation of the partners.
- Explain how the learning content of the Master programme reflects the latest development of technology in the market and how hands-on training, challenge-based learning, in cooperation with the industry and excellence/research partners, will be ensured.
- Explain the added value of the designed Master programme compared to the existing education offer delivered in the latest academic year prior to the delivery of the Master programme.
- The Master programme must be delivered for one set of student intake.
- Explain the methodology for the delivery of the Master programme and how it will address the labour market needs related to advanced digital skills.
- Envisage and explain the mechanisms to share expertise and resources among all partners, including industry if participating in the proposal (e.g. granting access to students enrolled in the Master programmes mentioned above to testing facilities, labs or other equipment, etc.).
- Develop an online version of modules/a course(s) forming part of the Master programme and make them accessible for free in all EU languages in the Digital Skills and Jobs Core Service Platform.
- For the purpose of this call, and in order to make the online content of modules/ a course(s) available in all EU official languages, the use of the Automated Translation Building Block is encouraged.
- Make available the online modules/a course(s) free of charge on the Digital Skills and Jobs Core Service Platform throughout the year during which the programme is delivered and for an additional 24 months after the end of the action.
- Carry out the communication activities to attract students to enroll in the Master programmes mentioned above.
- Allow for the mobility of teaching staff among the universities participating in the proposal.
- Explain how the Master programme courses will continue to be delivered and how the online courses will be kept updated with the latest development in technology after the end of the proposed action.
Expected Results
Proposals selected for funding will be required to demonstrate by the end of the Action:
- The Master programmes are offered and taught to students in all universities participating in the action;
- The contribution of all partners to the design and delivery of the Master programmes (for example, through number of seminars held by SMEs representatives, number of hours taught, etc.);
- The availability of modules forming part of the Master programme or courses related to the Master programme in all EU languages, as well as of the AI ethics course on the Digital Skills and Jobs Core Service Platform.
Funding Information
The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this call for proposals is estimated at €6.5 million.
Indicative Duration
The indicative duration of an Action proposed under this call is 24 to 36 months
Eligibility Criteria
- In accordance with the 2019–2020 Work Programme and pursuant to Article 9 of the CEF Regulation, only those proposals submitted by the following types of applicants are eligible:
- One or more Member State(s);
- With the agreement of the Member State(s) or EEA countr(y)ies concerned, international organisations, Joint Undertakings, or public or private undertakings or bodies established in Member States.
- For Objective 1:
- In order to be eligible, proposals submitted under Objective 1 must be submitted by a consortium composed of:
- At least three Master degree-awarding Universities from three different Member States and/or EEA countries participating in the CEF Telecom programme. One of the participating Universities must be the coordinator of the consortium;
- At least two Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Each SME must provide with the proposal a status assessment report generated via the wizard available on the European Commission DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs web page, which confirms a company qualifies as a SME.
- At least one excellence/research centre with focus on Artificial Intelligence. Each excellence/research centre must provide a self-declaration signed by its authorised representative confirming its status as an excellence/research centre. The template of the self-declaration is available on the call web page and must not be modified.
- Participation of industry is encouraged.
- For Objective 2:
- In order to be eligible, proposals submitted under objective 2 must be submitted by a consortium composed of:
- At least three Master degree-awarding Universities from three different Member States and/or EEA countries participating in the CEF Telecom programme. One of the participating Universities must be the coordinator of the consortium;
- At least one excellence/research centre with focus on Artificial Intelligence. Each excellent/research centre must provide a self-declaration signed by its authorised representative confirming its status as an excellence/research centre. The template of the self-declaration is available on the call web page and must not be modified.
- Participation of institutions/organisations entities with relevant sector-specific expertise (for example, but not limited to institutions/organisations in health, agriculture, manufacturing) is encouraged.
- In order to be eligible, proposals submitted under objective 2 must be submitted by a consortium composed of:
- In order to be eligible, proposals submitted under Objective 1 must be submitted by a consortium composed of:
- EEA countries
- In accordance with section 5.3.1 of the 2019–2020 Work Programme, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA) may participate in the call for proposals, even when not explicitly mentioned in the Work Programme text, with the same rights, obligations and requirements as EU Member States. At the time of call publication, these conditions apply to Norway and Iceland only.
- For UK applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6), 137 and 138, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK applicants are therefore eligible to participate under this call.
- Applicants without legal personality
- Proposals may be submitted by entities which do not have legal personality under the applicable national law, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf and offer a guarantee for the protection of the EU’s financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.
- Natural persons
- Proposals submitted by natural persons are not eligible.
For more information, visit https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/cef-telecom/apply-funding/2020-digital-skills-jobs