MSCA COFUND 2026 is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Projects results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes: For supported doctoral candidates or postdoctoral researchers Deeper and more diverse set of research-related and transferable skills and competences; Improved employability and career prospects both within academia and beyond; New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary experience; Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation impact. For participating organisations Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training; Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating organisation(s); Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations; Increased contribution of the participating organisations to the local, regional and/or national socio-economic ecosystems; Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating organisations Scope: Applicants submit proposals for new or existing doctoral or postdoctoral programmes with an impact on the enhancement of human resources in R&I at regional, national or international level. These programmes will be co-funded by MSCA COFUND. Proposed programmes can cover any research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but exceptionally can also focus on specific disciplines, notably when they are based on national or regional Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies). In this case, the range of covered disciplines should allow reasonable flexibility for the researchers to define their topic. Funding synergies with Cohesion Policy Funds and other EU funding sources are strongly encouraged. A Career Development Plan must be jointly established by the supervisor and each recruited researcher upon recruitment. In addition to research objectives, this Plan comprises the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aimed at opening science and research to citizens. The Plan must be established at the beginning of the recruitment and should be revised (and updated where needed) within 18 months. COFUND takes the form of: A) Doctoral programmes Doctoral programmes offer research training activities to allow doctoral candidates to develop and broaden their skills and competences. They will lead to the award of a doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The training activities should be based on the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral Training . The doctoral programmes should develop substantial training modules, addressing key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, including digital ones (e.g. generative AI) and fostering the culture of Open Science, knowledge valorisation [1] , and when applicable innovation and entrepreneurship as well as good scientific conduct such as research integrity. In particular, doctoral programmes should adequately prepare doctoral candidates to pursue a career in research and adequately prepare them for increased research collaboration and information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools, opening access to publications and to other research outputs including data, FAIR data management, societal engagement and citizen science, etc.). On top of compulsory international mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of cross-sectoral mobility and interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Collaboration with a wider set of associated partners, including from the non-academic sector, will be positively taken into account during the evaluation. These organisations may provide hosting or secondment opportunities or training modules in research or transferable skills. Particu Programme areas: Improving and Facilitating Synergies, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Excellent Science

America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR) - Robotics (R) Topic is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This NSF SBIR/STTR topic focuses on robot intelligence and experiential learning, specifically in high-performance processors or hardware that provide situational awareness and improved artificial intelligence. It encourages innovations in voice, obstacle and image recognition, emotional response, and hand-eye coordination. Proposals that borrow features from animal nervous systems and include biologists, neuroscientists, and psychologists are also encouraged. The program also seeks proposals for next-generation automation, flexible assembly lines for mass customization, advanced control with agile robotic systems, and applications supporting individuals with disabilities, healthcare, smart drones, and personal robots.

Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation is sponsored by Google.org. This challenge funds nonprofits, social enterprises, and academic institutions that partner with government entities to deploy generative and agentic AI solutions to transform public service delivery. Selected organizations receive funding, participation in a Google.org Accelerator, technical support from Google AI experts, and Google Cloud credits.