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VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant Award Call

Last Updated: 8/19/2025Deadline: 29 June 2026

Quick Facts

Programme:Horizon Europe
Call ID:MERIT
Deadline:29 June 2026
Status:
open
Time left:11 months

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💰 Funding Details

VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship & Mobility Grant


What the Call Funds

* Excellence Scholarships – tuition-fee waivers and/or monthly stipends that reward outstanding academic performance.

* Mobility Grants – lump-sum support for short-term study, research, traineeship or conference visits within EU/EEA & Horizon-Europe associated countries.


Eligible Beneficiaries

1. Students: Bachelor, Master or Doctoral candidates officially enrolled at VILNIUS TECH (full-time or part-time).

2. Early-career researchers/academic staff: VILNIUS TECH employees (≥0.5 FTE) applying for the mobility strand.

3. Academic prerequisites: minimum weighted average ≥ 8/10 (or top 25 % of cohort), no pending academic debts, good disciplinary standing.

4. Nationality: open to all nationalities holding a valid Lithuanian study / residence permit.


Financial Details

* Scholarships: €300 – €600 per month for up to 10 months OR a tuition waiver of up to 100 %.

* Mobility: flat-rate travel allowance (€180 – €1 500, distance-based) + daily subsistence (€70 – €120) for max. 90 days.

* Cascade-funded under Horizon Europe MERIT project ⇒ simplified cost reporting (unit costs & lump sums).

* No co-funding required, but double financing of identical activities is forbidden.


Indicative Calendar

| Milestone | Date |

|---|---|

| Call opens | 1 September |

| Submission deadline | 15 October, 17:00 EEST |

| Evaluation results | ≤ 30 days after deadline |

| Earliest activity start | 1 January |

| All activities completed by | 31 December (same academic year) |


Evaluation Grid (weights)

* Academic excellence – 40 %

* Relevance & impact of activity – 30 %

* Motivation & personal development – 15 %

* Feasibility & budget realism – 15 %


Grant Holder Obligations

* Submit semester transcript (scholarships) or travel report + evidences (mobility) within 30 days of completion.

* Acknowledge funding: “Funded by the MERIT project – Horizon Europe.”

* Participate in at least one VILNIUS TECH dissemination event.


Key Take-aways

* Focus is on merit and international exposure.

* Funding is generous but competitive; quality of proposal and academic record are decisive.


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Personalizing...

📊 At a Glance

29 June 2026
Deadline
11 months
Time remaining

🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages

EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for “VILNIUS TECH MERIT Project Excellence Scholarship and Mobility Grant”


1. Single Market Access

Why it matters: The EU’s single market unites 450 + million consumers under one regulatory umbrella.

Grant-specific edge:

- Scholarship-supported students and researchers can carry out mobility periods in any EU/EEA country without additional visas or work permits, accelerating market validation of prototypes or research outputs.

- Projects developed at VILNIUS TECH can be co-created with industry partners across the Union, instantly opening pan-European customer bases for commercialisable results.


2. Cross-Border Collaboration

- Mobility grants incentivise multinational research teams, allowing Lithuanian talent to embed in laboratories or companies in, for example, Germany (Fraunhofer), Italy (CNR) or Spain (CSIC).

- Facilitates dual-degree or co-supervised PhD arrangements that pool complementary expertise and infrastructure.

- Creates ready-made consortia for future Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, or Interreg proposals.


3. Alignment with EU Flagship Policies

| EU Strategy | Direct Relevance to MERIT Projects | Potential KPIs |

|-------------|------------------------------------|---------------|

| European Green Deal | Sustainable engineering, smart mobility, energy-efficient buildings | CO₂ reduction, TRL progression of green tech |

| Digital Europe | AI, cybersecurity, photonics research conducted during mobility | # of digital prototypes, patents |

| European Education Area | Recognition of credits and joint curricula | ECTS portability, joint certificates |

| New European Innovation Agenda | Deep-tech talent development | Venture creation, spin-offs |


4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

- EU-wide IP protection via the Unitary Patent simplifies commercial exploitation of project results.

- Harmonised GDPR framework allows seamless data-sharing across host institutions while safeguarding compliance.

- Mutual recognition of professional qualifications speeds up researcher secondments.


5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

- Proximity to EIT KICs (e.g., EIT Digital, InnoEnergy) offers acceleration, mentorship and seed capital.

- Easy entry into pan-EU research infrastructures: CERN, ESFRI facilities, EuroHPC JU supercomputers.

- Networking through COST Actions and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Alumni communities.


6. Funding Synergies

- MERIT mobility outputs can feed into Horizon Europe Pillar II collaborative projects, strengthening excellence scores.

- Results can qualify for follow-on equity from the European Innovation Council (EIC) or loans from InvestEU.

- Double-label funding possibilities with Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs).


7. Scale & Impact Potential

- Demonstrators piloted in Lithuania can be replicated in other EU regions via Digital Innovation Hubs or the Enterprise Europe Network.

- Scholarship alumni create a distributed talent pool, boosting Europe-wide adoption of innovations and reinforcing resilience in strategic value chains (semiconductors, renewables, advanced manufacturing).


8. Strategic Value at EU Scale

1. Talent circulation combats brain-drain and builds a genuinely European Research Area (ERA).

2. Bolsters EU competitiveness by merging diverse regional specialisations into globally leading value propositions.

3. Enhances social cohesion by ensuring that smaller member states like Lithuania become integral nodes in Europe’s knowledge economy.


9. Actionable Recommendations

- Map complementary hosts early: Use the EURAXESS portal to identify labs that fill capability gaps.

- Bundle with Horizon Europe: Prepare a Horizon Europe proposal during the mobility stay to lock in long-term funding.

- Leverage EU valorisation services: Engage the European IP Helpdesk for patent strategy and the EEN for market matchmaking.

- Track EU-level KPIs: Align project indicators with Horizon Europe impact pathways to ease future scaling.


🏷️ Keywords

Grant
Cascade funding
Open For Submission

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