DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-SKILLS-SCD-CSA

Stimulation of Chip Design 

Status
open for submission
Programme
Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL)
Action type
DIGITAL JU Coordination and Support Actions
Opens
7 Jul 2026
Deadline
24 Sep 2026
Fetched
5 Sep 2026, 00:32 UTC
Plain-language summary

Funding for a Chip Design Skills Programme to train 1,000+ students with hands-on tape-out experience across Europe.

This call supports a comprehensive chip design skills programme. It aims to provide practical chip design experience to students at multiple education levels. The goal is to build a sustainable pipeline of chip design talent in Europe.

Likely relevant for

  • Universities and educational institutions
  • Organizations involved in semiconductor education and training
  • Consortia aiming to develop chip design skills programmes
  • Entities focused on STEM education and reskilling

Project signals

Focus on hands-on chip design trainingInvolvement of university and secondary school studentsEmphasis on reskilling and talent pipeline development

What it funds

  • Comprehensive Chip Design Skills Programme
  • Hands-on tape-out experiences via multi-project wafers
  • Education integration at university and secondary school levels
  • Reskilling pathways for students from adjacent fields

Expected outcomes

  • At least 1,000 students completing funded tape-outs over 4 years
  • Practical chip design experience integrated into education
  • Stronger reskilling pathways for adjacent field students
  • Sustainable continent-wide pipeline of chip design talent

Who can apply / participate

  • Universities
  • Research organizations
  • Educational institutions
  • Consortia including multiple partners
  • Check specific consortium requirements in call documents
  • Eligible countries as specified in call documents
  • Must comply with admissibility conditions such as proposal page limits and layout
  • At least 60% of budget must support hands-on tape-out experiences
  • Exact eligible countries and consortium size requirements must be verified in official call documents

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility criteria regarding countries and applicant types
  • Budget allocation requirements (at least 60% for tape-out experiences)
  • Proposal page limits and submission details

Money

Total budget up to €15 million for 2026 with one expected grant.

  • Total budget — 15000000EUR
    Maximum contribution for the grant

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission model.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Part B of Application Form
  • Eligibility and admissibility conditions detailed in Appendix 8 of Work Programme
  • Call documents include application form, guide for applicants, evaluation form, and legal documents
  • Prepare proposal according to guidelines
  • Submit via Funding & Tenders Portal before deadline
  • Contact calls@chips-ju.europa.eu for support
  • Ensure at least 60% of budget supports hands-on tape-out experiences
  • Verify eligibility criteria carefully before submission

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 7 Jul 2026, 12:11 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.

Related calls

These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.

Official source text

Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.

Topic description

Expected Outcome: Practical chip design experience integrated into education at multiple levels; at least 1,000 students across Europe completing funded tape-outs over 4 years; stronger reskilling pathways for students from adjacent fields; and a sustainable, continent-wide pipeline of chip design talent to support Europe's semiconductor ambitions. Scope: This call funds a comprehensive Chip Design Skills Programme to lower barriers to entry in chip design and tape-outs. At least 60% of the budget must support hands-on tape-out experiences (via multi-project wafers) for university and secondary school students.

Conditions and documents

Conditions

1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout



The proposal page limits and layout is described in Part B of the Application Form, which can be accessed on the Chips JU website's Call page

The following information are all described in the Appendix 8 of Work Programme - Chips for Europe Initiative

2. Eligible countries

3. Other eligibility conditions

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

Support information

For help related to this call, please contact calls@chips-ju.europa.eu Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals . IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on your ongoing project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes.

Raw budget overview
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        "action": "DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-SKILLS-SCD-CSA - DIGITAL-JU-CSA DIGITAL JU Coordination and Support Actions",
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