Specialised Education Programmes in Key Capacity Areas

Applications must be submitted through the dedicated online application form: https://academic-offer.vic-eu.com/scholarships/.

Applications submitted through the designated online form will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable institutional data protection and information security procedures.

The collection and storage of applicant data shall be limited to what is necessary for the purposes of eligibility verification, evaluation, scholarship allocation, reporting, financial traceability, and audit requirements.

Access to submitted data shall be restricted to the authorised persons involved in the management and evaluation of the call.

Applicants must:

1. Be admitted or eligible for admission to the programme covered by this call
2. Meet the relevant academic, administrative, and admission requirements applicable to the programme, as published on the institutional webpage: www.istec.pt
3. Be natural persons
4. Comply with the applicable institutional enrolment requirements

Priority may be given to applicants who:

1. Demonstrate financial need
2. Belong to underrepresented groups
3. Come from non-ICT or interdisciplinary backgrounds
4. Contribute to diversity and inclusion

Applications must include:

1. A completed scholarship application form
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
3. Motivation letter
4. Proof of programme application or admission (if applicable)
5. Supporting documentation demonstrating financial need or eligibility under inclusion criteria (if applicable)

Application deadline: 30 June 2026, 23:59 (CEST)

Incomplete or late applications may not be considered.

Eligible applications will be evaluated by a Selection Committee appointed by ISTEC.

The Selection Committee will:

1. Verify eligibility
2. Evaluate applications
3. Rank applicants
4. Allocate scholarships

Members of the Selection Committee must declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest in relation to the applicants and, where relevant, abstain from the evaluation and decision-making process.

The evaluation and selection process shall be conducted in accordance with the principles of impartiality, transparency, equal treatment, confidentiality, and avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Academic merit
2. Motivation and alignment with the programme
3. Financial need
4. Contribution to diversity and inclusion
5. Relevant experience (if applicable)

Each eligible application will be evaluated using a scoring scale from 1 (insufficient) to 5 (excellent) for each criterion. The final ranking will be established based on the total aggregated score.

In the event of equal scores, priority may be given to applicants demonstrating higher financial need, stronger programme alignment, and/or earlier submission of a complete application.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome by email following the conclusion of the evaluation process.

The selection process will follow the principles of transparency, equal treatment, confidentiality, and avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Applicants who wish to request clarification or submit an appeal regarding the outcome of the evaluation may do so in writing within 10 working days of notification of the results.

Appeals must be submitted by email to: [email protected].

Appeals will be reviewed by the issuing institution in accordance with the principles of fairness, transparency, equal treatment, and procedural consistency. The outcome of the appeal will be communicated in writing.

Disclaimer: This call (as well as the financial support provided through it) is NOT an EU action. This call is launched solely by ISTEC – Instituto Superior de Tecnologias Avançadas de Lisboa. The financial support to the selected successful applicants will be provided directly by ISTEC – Instituto Superior de Tecnologias Avançadas de Lisboa in its own name and under its own responsibility. ISTEC – Instituto Superior de Tecnologias Avançadas de Lisboa responsibility includes the preparation and drafting of this call as well as the selection of successful applicants who will receive the said financial support. The publication of this call in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal is made solely for information purposes with the aim of increasing the visibility of this call to the general public, including to potential applicants (i.e. students). The said publication shall not be construed as direct or indirect approval of the content and conditions of this call by the relevant EU authorities or as any form of waiver from the above-described responsibility of ISTEC – Instituto Superior de Tecnologias Avançadas de Lisboa.

Applications under this call are managed by ISTEC – Instituto Superior de Tecnologias Avançadas de Lisboa, within the framework of the Virtual Innovation Consortium (VIC), co-funded by the Digital Europe Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101226225.

This call refers specifically to the 2025-2026 edition of the VIC Summer School organised by ISTEC.

A total of 10 scholarships are available under this call. Each selected participant may receive €250 in financial support, applied directly as a participation fee reduction / fee waiver.

The scholarship does not involve direct cash transfers and does not cover travel, accommodation, subsistence, or other ancillary costs.

Eligible candidates under this call include:

1. Students who hold the nationality of an EU Member State or another Digital Europe Programme eligible country; and/or
2. Students from countries with which the European Commission maintains ongoing international cooperation related to digital topics, including digital partnerships, Trade and Technology Councils (TTCs), policy dialogues, and related cooperation frameworks.

The applicable list of countries and cooperation frameworks is subject to change and shall be interpreted in accordance with the relevant European Commission rules and updates.

Applicants are strongly advised to consult the full call documentation, eligibility requirements, and programme admission conditions before submitting their application.

Questions related to this call may be addressed to:

Email: [email protected]

Institutional website: www.istec.pt

The issuing institution reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation where necessary for eligibility verification, evaluation, financial control, or audit purposes.