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Boosting Sweden’s role in Horizon Europe – Knowledge Foundation co-funds doctoral education

News

Despite the significant opportunities offered by the EU programme Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Co-Funding (MSCA COFUND), engagement from Swedish higher education institutions has been limited. The Knowledge Foundation is now launching a new initiative to address this by offering co-funding for projects applying to MSCA COFUND.

MSCA COFUND is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe framework programme and aims to finance doctoral education. For Swedish universities and university colleges, this represents an opportunity to attract international research talent, build stronger educational environments, and develop collaboration with industry. However, the support also requires a significant investment from the host institution.

" Smaller universities, including many in the Knowledge Foundation’s target group, often lack the resources to apply, as this funding scheme only covers part of the actual costs. By supporting applications to MSCA COFUND, we want to lower the barriers for our target group institutions and strengthen Sweden’s participation in Horizon Europe.
Martin Fröberg
Programme Manager at the Knowledge Foundation

How it works

This autumn, the Knowledge Foundation will open a special call for co-funding of doctoral programmes planned under MSCA COFUND. The call will close about eight months before the application deadline of the EU call.

The Knowledge Foundation will not perform a scientific assessment of the applications but will verify that all formal requirements are met. The doctoral programme must be planned in accordance with MSCA COFUND’s criteria and, to be eligible for funding from the Knowledge Foundation, must be conducted in collaboration with industry. Please note that the Knowledge Foundation does not provide co-funding for postdoctoral programmes.

If the application meets the formal requirements, the Knowledge Foundation will issue a letter of intent with a preliminary co-funding amount. This document can be included in the EU application as part of the financing plan.

“We hope that this initiative will contribute to increased interest in funding through MSCA COFUND. The latest research and innovation bill emphasises the importance of external funding, which makes this initiative strategically important,” says Martin.

More information about the call will be published when it opens this autumn. The timeline for the MSCA COFUND 2026 call has not yet been announced by the European Commission. Stay updated via kks.se or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest information.

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