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Digital Europe — advanced digital skills and EdTech (SKILLS-10 and BESTUSE-10)

Two Digital Europe calls, DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-10 and DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10, with €36.9 million across five themes, for European consortia. EdTech start-ups can subsequently receive up to €150,000 through cascade funding. Deadline: 1 October 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time).

Who can apply: Public or private legal entities from EU Member States (including the overseas countries and territories…
Total budget: 36.9 million
Funding amount: EDTECH
Submission period: 21 April 2026 – 1 October 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time)

Checked against official sources on 30 September 2026 · funder: European Commission · official source

Call window closed 163-day window

21 Apr 2026 1 Oct 2026

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Digital Europe: €36.9 million for digital skills and EdTech, deadline 1 October 2026

Who can apply

Public or private legal entities from EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories), from the listed EEA countries and from countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme can apply. Natural persons are not eligible, except for self-employed people (sole traders without separate legal personality). Most topics require consortia: at least 4 independent applicants from 4 countries for DIGITAL-HEALTH-STEP and EDTECH; at least 5 from 4 countries for NATIONAL-COALITIONS, of which at least 4 must be national coalitions funded through CEF-TC-2019-2, CEF-TC-2020-2 or DIGITAL-2024-ADVANCED-DIGITAL-06-SKILLS; at least 5 from 5 countries for EHDS. EdTech start-ups and SMEs, public authorities, hospitals and health data holders benefit mainly through cascading support. The NETWORKSICs topic is aimed at consortia of NGOs, government bodies or private organisations from eligible countries that did not receive funding in the DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-08-NETWORKSICs call. Only one Safer Internet centre per country is co-financed.

What it covers

European accelerator for EdTech start-ups and SMEs: three open calls and three cycles of acceleration, piloting and post-piloting (10–12 months each)
Artificial intelligence training programmes for healthcare professionals, data specialists and developers in the medical sector
Establishing new national coalitions for digital skills and jobs, expanding existing ones and connecting national websites to the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform
Preparing public authorities, healthcare providers and health data holders for the European Health Data Space (EHDS)
Adopting the European Electronic Health Record exchange format (EEHRxF) and training service providers, especially SMEs
Extending the geographical coverage of the Safer Internet centres network: an awareness centre, a helpline and a hotline for protecting children online

Consultant's advice

The deadline expires tomorrow, 1 October 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time (18:00 Romanian time). Less than a day is left. There is no extension or corrigendum on the official websites, and the documents for both calls are still in version 1.0 of 1 April 2026. The EdTech grant does not go directly to start-ups, but to a consortium that runs the accelerator. Start-ups can obtain funding only through the open calls the consortium launches later. Submission is exclusively online, on the Funding & Tenders portal, and participants must be registered in the Participant Register. Indicative timetable: results come in December 2026 for SKILLS-10 (contracts signed in February 2027) and in January 2027 for BESTUSE-10 (contracts signed in June 2027). EHDS projects last 48 months, and NETWORKSICs projects up to 18 months.

Full analysis Digital Europe: €36.9 million for digital skills and EdTech, deadline 1 October 2026 Conditions, steps and pitfalls, with official sources →

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We analyse whether you qualify and under which programme exactly.
We build the application: business plan, budget, supporting documents.
We submit during the call window and follow the evaluation.
We stay with you through the reimbursement file and final payment.

Frequently asked questions

Until when can projects be submitted to the Digital Europe SKILLS-10 and BESTUSE-10 calls?

The deadline for both calls, DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-10 and DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10, is 1 October 2026, 17:00 Brussels time, i.e. 18:00 Romanian time. The calls opened on 21 April 2026. Submission is online only, on the European Commission's Funding & Tenders portal; paper applications are not accepted.

Can an EdTech start-up from Romania receive funding directly through this call?

Not directly. The €2.7 million grant for the EDTECH topic goes to a single consortium of at least 4 organisations from 4 eligible countries, which runs a European accelerator. The consortium must launch three open calls and give at least 60% of the budget as financial support to at least 20 EdTech start-ups or SMEs, with a maximum of €150,000 for each.

What is the total budget and how is it split between topics?

The total budget is €36.9 million. The SKILLS-10 call has €12.5 million: €7.8 million for artificial intelligence training in healthcare (DIGITAL-HEALTH-STEP), €2 million for national digital skills coalitions and €2.7 million for the EdTech accelerator. The BESTUSE-10 call has €24.4 million: €14.4 million for EHDS and €10 million for the Safer Internet centres.

What funding rate does each topic offer?

EDTECH, NATIONAL-COALITIONS and EHDS are funded at 100%. DIGITAL-HEALTH-STEP is funded at 50%, as a lump sum, with a maximum of €3.9 million per project. NETWORKSICs are simple grants with 50% funding, with ceilings of €1,175,000, €750,000 or €450,000 per project, depending on the country's population.

Who can apply to the Digital Europe SKILLS-10 and BESTUSE-10 calls?

Public or private legal entities from EU Member States, from the listed EEA countries and from countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme can apply. Natural persons are not eligible, except for those who are self-employed. Most topics require international consortia of 4–5 partners, and all participants must be registered in the Participant Register before submission.

How long does it take to prepare the application?

It depends on the complexity of the project and the documents you already have. The first step is the eligibility analysis, which tells you what needs to be prepared.

What happens if I do not qualify?

We tell you before any contract is signed, and if another suitable programme exists, we point you to it.

In brief

Status: Call window closed
Funder: European Commission
Source of funds: Directly from the European Commission
Total budget: €36.9 million: SKILLS-10 has €12.5 million (DIGITAL-HEALTH-STEP €7.8 million, NATIONAL-COALITIONS €2 million, EDTECH €2.7 million), and BESTUSE-10 has €24.4 million (EHDS €14.4 million, NETWORKSICs €10 million)
Amount: EDTECH: €2.7 million, 100% funding. At least 60% of the budget is awarded as financial support to at least 20 start-ups or SMEs, with a maximum of €150,000 for each. DIGITAL-HEALTH-STEP: two projects, with a maximum of €3.9 million each (lump sum, 50% funding). NATIONAL-COALITIONS: €2 million, 100% funding. Cascading support can be at most 30% of the budget, with a maximum of €150,000 for each third party. EHDS: a single project of €14.4 million, 100% funding, with cascading support of up to €120,000 for each third party. NETWORKSICs: simple grants with 50% funding, with a maximum of €1,175,000 per project for countries with over 20 million inhabitants, €750,000 for those with 6–20 million and €450,000 for those with under 6 million.
Submission: 21 April 2026 – 1 October 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time)
Category: European programmes with direct submission

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96% success rate

Out of every 100 projects submitted, 96 were approved. That is exactly why we start with the eligibility analysis — we submit only the applications that have a real chance.

Checked in the official guide source 30 September 2026

Next step

We will notify you about the next round — Digital Europe — advanced digital skills and EdTech (SKILLS-10 and BESTUSE-10)

Fill in the form and we will tell you whether you qualify. If you do not qualify under this programme, we will tell you which other one you could apply for — or that there is none, if that is the case.

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