In a news conference, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation Keith Azzopardi Tanti launched five schemes of the Maltese Council for Science and Technology to support the participation of Maltese entities in the Horizon Europe programme.
The schemes that have been launched are:
- ERC Support Scheme – researchers will have the opportunity and will be helped to access funds from the European Research Council;
- Horizon Europe Networking Support Scheme – through this scheme interested parties will be given funds to attend Horizon Europe networking events;
- Horizon Internationalization Partnership Award Scheme – this scheme offers support to Maltese entities that will submit a proposal for funds as coordinators of projects under Horizon Europe;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Scheme for Incoming Postdocs to Malta – this scheme covers the costs related to the travel of an experienced researcher (post-doctoral) who will collaborate with a Maltese entity in a Horizon Europe project under the -Marie Curie Fellowships; and
- European Innovation Council Support Scheme – this scheme offers support to those who are going to apply for funds under the Program of the European Council for Innovation, under Horizon Europe.
During his speech, the parliamentary secretary said that through the launch of these schemes, Maltese participation in the EU programme, Horizon Europe, will continue to increase. For these support schemes €200,000 have been allocated.
He explained that in the first three years of the Horizon Europe program, Maltese entities received almost €38 million in funds from the program. This exceeds the amount they received under the previous program, Horizon 2020 where Maltese entities received €37.5 million over a period of seven years. This is apart from the fact that the success rate of Maltese project applications in Horizon Europe has continued to increase over the years.
“The Government has committed to continue investing in research and innovation to advance Malta’s scientific and technological capabilities. This together with the many good results and proposals being put forward by the Maltese stakeholders,” concluded the parliamentary secretary.
The Chairman of the Maltese Council for Science and Technology Dr. Tonio Portughese stated that, “Through the launch of these support schemes the participation of the Maltese in the Framework Programs of the EU is being facilitated , and despite the competitive nature of these calls the Maltese participants are having great success. The Council committed to continue supporting the continuous development of research and innovation.”
For more information about these schemes one can visit here .
