Available courses

European Union for Beginners

European Union for Beginners

This course aims at giving a very basic overview of the European Union to newly nominated NCPs from Member States, Associated countries or Third countries. This onboarding should suit the three different backgrounds. For this the formation of the EU together with its 8 institutions is described. In a next step four most relevant institutions for Research and innovation, together with the respective intersections to the Framework programme, are outlined.

In a second part the 7-year cycle of the EU is explained by indicating relevant links to the R&I programme.

In a last part, the European Union and those contact persons relevant for NCPs are indicated and their roles explained.

Similarly, the EU jargon which an NCP may encounter and which is specific for the R&I programme, will be explained and illustrated.

Overall this course comes in 9 lectures which different test-your-knowledge section.

HORIZON EUROPE – about the Programme

HORIZON EUROPE – about the Programme

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the Horizon Europe programme. It comes in four separate lectures covering the programme's introduction, legal aspects, financial aspects, and the project life cycle.

We designed this course to help especially newly nominated NCPs understand programme's overall mission and basic rules and signpost them to further sources of information where they can find more details concerning specific areas of their interest.

From topic idea to proposal submission

From topic idea to proposal submission

Overall goal: 
Understand the journey from call topic, developing a project idea, writing a proposal to submission within the Horizon Europe programme.

Content of this course:
How to develop a project idea: understand the call topic, develop a big project picture and a first “one page idea” of a proposal, how to find project partners

How to write proposals: we will have a look at the overall proposal template, and describe the different subchapters in more detail, adding Do’s and Don’ts wherever possible. We will also discuss the timing – when to start, how long the process of writing takes, etc.

Submission of proposal: we will briefly explain the submission process

Why this course?
A major part of an NCP’s job is to advice on project ideas and proposal writing. It is therefore important to know the basics on proposal writing, and to get some tools in hand how to support applicants (e.g. the idea check through a one page proposal).

Participants in HE projects

Participants in HE projects

The course introduces the basic conditions for participation in HE projects and provides an overview of the different types of participants that may appear in these projects.

There are four 5-8 min video lectures plus a quiz section at the end of each lecture.

The first lecture explains which entities from which countries can participate in HE projects and who can get funding from the EU. It also provides basic information about the rules for consortium composition.

The following part is focused on the characteristics and roles of the coordinator and the other beneficiaries in the consortium and their responsibilities during the project proposal preparation and implementation.

The third part brings a comprehensive overview of all types of third parties that may also be involved in the project (affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties providing in-kind contributions, subcontractors, and financial support to third parties).

The last part covers the administrative aspects of third parties’ participation during the proposal preparation as well as project implementation.

Introduction to "Excellent Science"

Introduction to "Excellent Science"

This course aims to provide NCPs with basic knowledge of the pillar 1 programmes (ERC, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Research Infrastructures).

All three Pillar 1 schemes are open to all domains of research and innovation and are an important means to drive excellent science in Europe. There are multiple synergies with other programmes of Horizon Europe, for instance between the ERC and the EIC. As bottom-up schemes, they can offer attractive alternatives to Pillar 2 or Pillar 3 funding.

With the help of this module, you will get basic knowledge about the ERC, MSCA and Research Infrastructures. You will be able to signpost your clients to the Pillar 1 programmes that are relevant to them and point out the important aspects of these schemes.

The course has 5 chapters:

  • Introduction & Overview
  • European Research Council (ERC)
  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
  • Research Infrastructures
  • To finish: a fact sheet about Pillar 1 and a quiz to test your knowledge

EIT crash course for NCPs

EIT crash course for NCPs

This course aims to provide some valuable insight into the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC).

They bring together leading businesses, education and research organisations and are dedicated to finding solutions to a specific global challenge.

The course has two main parts. The EIT HQ part is divided into 13 chapters where each chapter takes about 10 min. In the second part, there are short 5 to 10 min voice-recorded PowerPoint Presentations highlighting the specifics for the particular KIC

Each session is accompanied with some multiple choice questions to digest the content.

There are many wonderful opportunities within the EIT and its KIC. The course will help you to navigate in the complex landscape and find the important information fast and smoothly.

Welcome in your new life as an NCP

Welcome in your new life as an NCP

Informing NCPs about their role and the expected activities within the Horizon Europe programme. Focus also on synergies and connections with the main stakeholders.

The baseline of the course is the “Minimum standards and Guiding principles for setting up systems of National Contact Points”. This document includes the support services that NCPs should guarantee for ensuring that Horizon Europe becomes accessible to all potential users.

The entire course focuses on the following elements of the NCP life:

  • main communication channels and the strategy to adopt to inform clients about the funding opportunities
  • production of factsheets about the main NCP activities: information, assistance and training
  • to provide essential information for events organization (info days, workshop, webinar, M&E...)
  • to advise on collaboration with stakeholders of the NCP systems: EEN networks, European Commission, NCP Networks, relevant EU platforms for cooperation.

Welcome to your new role as Partner Country NCP

Welcome to your new role as Partner Country NCP

This course has the aim of informing EU Partner Countries NCPs about their role within the Horizon Europe programme and the expected activities that will be required of them. The course will provide and explain the minimum standards and guiding principles for setting up systems of National Contact Points, and it will outline the main support services that EU Partner Countries NCPs should guarantee to their clients to ensure that Horizon Europe becomes accessible to all potential users. The course also covers fundamental elements of the NCP life, such as main communication channels, the means to provide essential information for events organization and cooperation with stakeholders of the NCP systems.

Quick course through the tools of the Funding and Tenders Portal

Quick course through the tools of the Funding and Tenders Portal

The course aims to briefly present the digital tools that National Contact Points can use in the framework of their duties. The course presents the use of the Funding and Tenders portal in terms of searching for new funding opportunities, identifying partners, finding sources of support and submitting proposals. The Horizon Dashboard and the Funding and Tenders portal are also demonstrated as tools through which National Contact Points can find information on their country's participation in previous FPs.

Ethics in Research and Research Integrity

Ethics in Research and Research Integrity

Horizon Europe projects and concrete measures proposed should fully comply with ethical rules ("ETHICS BY DESIGN").

The applicants should pay particular attention to the ethical aspects of the proposed work and should submit an "ethics-ready" proposal, therefore it is necessary that ethics should be considered in connection with research objectives, research methodology and potential research impact.

In this course you will learn about the concepts of research integrity and research misconduct, what are the ethically sensitive areas in research and eligible activities supported by Horizon Europe. This course also covers information about Ethics Review Procedure in Horizon Europe.

The course is especially designed for NCP newcomers and it´s organized in 3 sections, each followed up by quiz to test your knowledge.