The aim is to foster transnational innovation in education, training, youth, and sport by cooperation, and to pilot projects for innovative solutions. Projects should enable organisations to improve their activities, introduce new practices and methods, as well as strengthen collaborations within their networks at European and International levels. 

Cooperation Partnerships should aim to:

• Increase the quality in the work, activities and practices of organisations and institutions involved, opening up to new actors, not naturally included within one sector.
• Build the capacity of organisations to work transnationally and across sectors.
• Address common needs and priorities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport.
• Enable transformation and change (at individual, organisational or sectoral level), leading to improvements and new approaches, in proportion to the context of each organisation.

Cooperation Partnerships must take place over a duration of 12 to 36 months, and consortium must involve a minimum of 3 organisations from 3 different EU Member States or third countries associated to the programme.

Activities in such projects have to address at least one horizontal priority under Erasmus+, and/or, at least one sector specific priority under your national strategy for education, training, youth, and, or sport. Applicants will choose between the 3 pre-defined lump-sums according to the activities they want to undertake and the results they want to achieve.

• EUR 120 000
• EUR 250 000
• EUR 400 000

If you are interested in building an application under this call for Cooperation Partnerships, the first step is to align your priorities in reference to the list of the programme, and to start setting up your partner for a consortium according to the list of eligible countries. For ease of reference, here is the full programme guide for Erasmus+.

What agency should I submit the application to?

National Agency: If your application is submitted by any organisation (with the exception of a European NGO), and concerns the fields of education, training, and youth, then the application needs to be submitted to the National Agency of the Coordinator's country. For applications lead by a Maltese Coordinator, the national agency is The European Union Programmes Agency.

• Capping on Applications: For applications in the fields of school education, vocational education and training, adult education and youth, the University of Malta (OID: E10209037) cannot be involved in more than 10 applications overall per deadline, either as lead applicant or partner.
• Please register your interest in applying as soon as possible. The funding team at RSSD cannot be aware of all proposals where the UM is involved as a partner, and reliance is made on the National Agency's (NA) online system for submission. The NA registers proposal on a first come first served basis, and a warning is shown in this system for the next applicant after the capping is reached.

EACEA for European NGOs: If your application is submitted by European NGOs then you should submit the application to the European Education and Culture Agency (EACEA) in the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. The EU F&T portal splits the call in two CALL IDs. To submit, the European NGO has to choose between two topics: the field of Education and Training (Call ID: ERASMUS-EDU-2026-PCOOP-ENGO) OR the field of Youth (Call ID: ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-PCOOP-ENGO).

EU Funding and Tenders Portal for the field of Sport: An exception is made for the field of Sport. All applications by any organisation in the field of Sport, including European NGO, must submit the application to the EU F&T Portal under Sport (Call ID: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SCP).

In all cases, the same consortium of partners can submit only one application per deadline, and one application to one agency.

Small Scale Partnerships require smaller projects than Cooperation Partnerships.

This change in scale aims to widen access to run transnational projects, and is defined by  lower grant amounts, shorter duration, and simpler administrative requirements. As such, it aims to reach grassroots organisations, less experienced organisations, and newcomers to the programme.

Following Cooperation partnerships, proposals under small scale partnerships should also aim to

• Attract and widen access for newcomers, less experienced organisations and small-scale actors to the programme.
• Support the inclusion of target groups with fewer opportunities.
• Support active European citizenship and bring the European dimension to the local level.

Projects for Small-scale Partnerships must take place over a duration of 6 and 24 months, and activities have to address at least one horizontal priority under Erasmus+, and/or, at least one sector specific priority under your national strategy for education, training, youth, and, or sport. Their consortium must involve a minimum of 2 organisations from 2 different EU Member States or third countries associated to the programme.

There are 2 pre-defined lump sums grants:

• EUR 30 000
• EUR 60 000

Applicants will choose between the 2 predefined amounts according to the activities they want to undertake and the results they want to achieve

What agency should I submit the application to?

National Agency: If your application is submitted by any organisation (with the exception of a European NGO), and concerns the fields of education, training, and youth, then the application needs to be submitted to the National Agency of the Coordinator's country. For applications lead by a Maltese Coordinator, the national agency is The European Union Programmes Agency.

• Capping on Applications: For applications in the fields of school education, vocational education and training, adult education and youth, the University of Malta (OID: E10209037) cannot be involved in more than 5 applications overall per deadline, either as lead applicant or partner.
• Please register your interest in applying as soon as possible. The Funding team at RSSD cannot be aware of all proposals where the UM is involved as a partner, and reliance is made on the National Agency's (NA) online system for submission. Proposals by the NA are received on a first-come, first-served basis, and a warning is displayed by the NA's system for the next applicant after the capping is reached.

EECEA for Sport: If your application concerns the field of sport (Call ID: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SSCP) then you should submit your application to the European Agency, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency.

In all cases, the same consortium of partners can submit only one application and to one Agency only per deadline.

Jean Monnet Actions in Higher Education are focused on support for Teaching and Training in the fields of European Union Studies worldwide, including its history, aims, structures, functions, and/or its policies.

The aim is to promote a focus on European Values and excellence, foster action with academia, along with access to opportunities for teaching and research. The actions cut across universities, civil society organisations, and programmes to stimulate debate, and raise awareness on the future of Europe. 

Any project under this action must take the shape of either Modules, Chairs, or Centres of Excellence.

Projects for Higher Education Modules (Call ID: ERASMUS-JMO-2026-HEI-TCH-RSCH-MODULE) can aim for a grant amount of up to maximum EUR 35,000 with a lump sum funding model. Applicants must request the predefined amount of the single lump sum based on the range provided for their country as indicated in the programme guide.

Projects for Higher Education Chairs (Call ID: ERASMUS-JMO-2026-HEI-TCH-RSCH-CHAIR) can aim for a grant amount of up to maximum EUR 60,000 with a lump sum funding model. Applicants must request the predefined amount of the single lump sum indicated, corresponding to country, as indicated in the programme guide. Note that the lump sum per country reflects the total number of teaching hours over 3 years.

Projects for Higher Education Centres of Excellence (Call ID: ERASMUS-JMO-2026-HEI-TCH-RSCH-COE) can aim for a grant amount of maximum EUR 100,000 with a lump sum funding model. The granting authority will fix the lump sum of each grant based on the proposal, evaluation result, funding rates and the maximum grant amount set in the programme guide. The co-financing rate of 80% will be applied to the total estimated eligible costs determined after evaluation. Please note, this topic also has a cap on financial support to third parties at (FSTP) EUR 60,000.

Funds under this call are granted on a lump sum model, and can be used to cover staff costs, travel and subsistence, equipment and subcontracting as well as other costs (dissemination of information, publishing, translation).

The aim is to promote excellence and international education, including access and mobility for joint masters degrees (Lot 1), and support for design, development, and innovation for (Lot 2) a new masters across countries.

The call is for higher educational institutions to jointly design and, or to provide a joint masters degree. Their proposal should cover all academic, operational, administrative and financial aspects. This includes common admission requirements, as well as integrated programmes for teaching, language policy, among other services offered for students and the dissemination for their joint programme. All partners should also aim to enroll and support excellent students worldwide, and students are expected to uphold their commitment with a student agreement with the consortium.

Projects for Lot 1: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EMJM) should last about 74 months. The programme aims to contribute to the institutional cost of the EMJM on a per unit basis, and takes into consideration, the duration of the programme, the number of students, including scholarships. Every consortium should include at least 3 HEIs (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different countries, of which at least 2 different EU Member States and/or third countries associated to the Programme.

Projects for Lot 2: Erasmus Mundus Design Measures (EMDM) should last about 15 months, and the programme aims to contribute with a lump-sum grant of around EUR 60,000. EMDM are mono-beneficiary projects. The beneficiary will initiate contacts and collaboration activities in view of setting up a Master programme in line with the definition of an “integrated Master programme” (see section EMJM of programme guide “ Setting up a project”).

The Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters and Erasmus Mundus Design Measures represent two independent lots. There is no obligation to implement an EMDM before an EMJM. The award of an EMDM does not imply automatic funding under EMJM and the completion of an EMDM project is not an award criterion for an EMJM.

The aim is to develop strategic partnerships across stakeholders to engage with partners in countries outside the EU. It is important to note that, while a Budget is available for EU partners, the activities and outcomes of the project are intended to benefit countries outside the EU. Activities support the relevance, quality, modernisation of higher education in third countries not associated to the programme in order to support socio-economic recovery, growth and prosperity in these countries.

For a full list of objectives of this Action, please refer to the Erasmus+ programme guide.

Projects for Higher Education can work with organisations active in the fields of education, training, and youth, and grants are based on a lump-sum model with a 90% funding rate.

HEI Proposals for Strand 1: Fostering access to cooperation in higher education can apply for a budget of around EUR 200,000 to EUR 400,000 per project.

HEI Proposals for Strand 2: Partnerships for transformation in higher education can apply for a budget of around EUR 400,000 to EUR 800,000 per project.

HEI Proposals for Strand 3: Global Gateway can apply for a budget of around EUR 600,000 and EUR 1,000,000. Specifically for the EU-Moldova Master’s programme in European Affairs, the range can also go up to EUR 2 000 000 per project.

In addition to the priorities outlined for any project under the topic of capacity building under this work programme, calls are organised by regional impact.

For instance, proposals for the Southern Mediterranean region should focus on the Green Deal; Digital transformation; Integration of migrants; Governance, peace, security and human development; Sustainable growth and jobs. More specifically for Strand 2, proposals for the South Mediterranean are directed by the programme to focus on the development of innovative joint study programmes in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and to enable the design and implementation of innovative joint curricula by higher education institutions from both sides of the Mediterranean. 

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency has also published a few guidelines to introduce the call. The guidelines are focused general information about building an application for this call, including consortium structure, as well as a guideline for novelties in this call for 2026.

Please note this is a summary of funding opportunities under Capacity Building for Higher Education. For all the necessary details about what priorities are listed for Strand 1, 2, and 3, along with the priorities for each national, regional, and cross-regional projects, please refer to the full progamme guide.

Proposals on behalf of UM are subject to an internal review. To start, send your first draft to our offices by the internal deadlines, and get in touch with your contact point at the Research Support Services Directorate for any further queries.

TO: funding.rssd@um.edu.mt to support your final draft, and guide you through all the required documents.
CC: projectsupport@um.edu.mt to support financial planning, and budget queries.

Once your draft is in review, our teams can guide you through any further details and documents as required by this call.

Adhering to deadlines is essential and makes it possible for us to both support you, and make sure your application is eligible on behalf of UM. Any applications received after the internal deadline are not guaranteed a full review, nor support for processing and signatures.

For ease of reference, here are the internal deadlines for other calls under Erasmus+.

KA2: Capacity Building in the field of Youth
5 February 2026 for UM as Coordinator
12 February 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 19 February 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 26 February 2026

KA3: European Youth Together
5 February 2026 for UM as Coordinator
12 February 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 19 February 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 26 February 2026

KA2: Capacity Building in the Field of Sport
29 January 2026 for UM as Coordinator
19 February 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 26 February 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 5 March 2026

KA2: Alliances for Innovation
3 February 2026 for UM as Coordinator
24 February 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 3 March 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 10 March 2026

KA2: Capacity Building for Vocational Education and Training
12 February 2026 for UM as Coordinator
12 March 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 20 March 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 26 March 2026

KA2: European Partnership for School Development
12 March 2026 for UM as Coordinator
26 March 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 2 April 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 9 April 2026

KA2: Centres for Vocational Excellence
6 August 2026 for UM as Coordinator
20 August 2026 for UM as Partner
And Finalise all your Documents by 27 August 2026
Submit to EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 3 September 2026

Stay posted for summaries of the topics in the upcoming mailshots for January 2026.