EIT Culture & Creativity – Education Call: Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Courses 2025
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The EIT Culture & Creativity Call for continuous professional development (CPD) courses 2025 emphasises the development of courses designed to equip students and professionals within the Cultural and Creative Sector Industries with vital skills in creativity, sustainability, digital technologies, entrepreneurship, and sectorspecific innovation.
Detailed Call Description
These CPD courses target skill gaps and emerging challenges across the EIT CC priority areas -fashion, architecture, audio-visual media, cultural heritage, and gaming – fostering a robust, adaptive workforce ready to lead Europe’s creative industries into a sustainable, competitive future. Each call topic aligns with EIT Culture & Creativity’s strategic goals, promoting lifelong learning for sustainable growth, sector resilience, and the capacity to address global transitions within CCSI. The call will fund up to 10 EIT-labelled CPD courses and up to 19 non-EIT-labelled CPD courses, ensuring a balanced approach to supporting both comprehensive, interdisciplinary programmes and targeted, short-term training.
EIT-labelled CPD courses:
- Course 1, Entrepreneurship & Creative Thinking: Foresight, strategic innovation, and creative leadership.
- Course 2, Entrepreneurship & Emerging Technologies: AI, AR, and VR for creative processes and digital mentorship.
- Course 3, Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Architecture: Circular design, bio-based materials, and climate-resilient urban planning.
- Course 4, Entrepreneurship & Gaming: Emerging gaming technologies, market competitiveness, and platform integration.
- Course 5, Youth Entrepreneurship: Targeted training for young people (ages 15-24), focusing on entrepreneurial skills, digital tools, and sustainable practices.
Non-EIT-labelled CPD courses:
- Course 1, Architecture: Sustainable renovation, circular design, and bio-based materials.
- Course 2, Audio-Visual Media: AI, data analytics, IP protection, and content monetisation.
- Course 3, Cultural Heritage: Digital tools for archiving, storytelling, and craft preservation.
- Course 4, Fashion: Circular design, digital supply chain optimisation, and SME growth strategies.
- Course 5, Gaming: Advanced technologies (AI, AR/VR), global market strategies, and diversity promotion.
To be eligible, all submitted proposals must address the mandatory KPIs listed below:
- EIT-labelled CPD courses:
- 1 – Graduates from EIT-labelled programmes: Minimum 30 graduates per course, including detailed reporting on participant demographics and programme details.
- 2 – EIT RIS Graduates from EIT-labelled programmes: Minimum 9 RIS graduates, with similar reporting requirements.
- 1 – Students enrolled in EIT-labelled programmes: At least 55 students enrolled per course, tracked and reported.
- Non-EIT-labelled CPD courses:
- 1 – Participants in non-labelled education and training: Minimum 290 participants successfully completing courses, with breakdowns of enrolment and completion by demographics and programme type.
- 2 – EIT RIS Participants in (non-degree) education and training: At least 87 participants from RIS countries completing the courses, with detailed reporting.
- Additional KPI (applicable to both course types):
- CCSI02 – Students / professionals with new entrepreneurial skills: Minimum 20 participants demonstrating new entrepreneurial skills, with supporting data and evidence provided in reporting.
Projects applying to this call should actively integrate considerations of gender equality and diversity into the design, development, and delivery of their CPD courses. Proposals should outline how gender and diversity are addressed within educational content, course accessibility, participant recruitment, and learning methodologies. Courses should reflect the diversity of the CCSI workforce and consider the interaction of gender and diversity factors with other identity traits, such as age, race, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, and physical ability.
EIT Culture & Creativity will host 3 information sessions covering the different aspects of the call:
- Webinar 1: Evaluation criteria and application process: Information session covering eligibility and evaluation criteria, assessment and application process, and requirements for both EIT-labelled and non-EIT-labelled CPD proposals. 18 February 2025, 11h00-12h00 (Brussels time).
- Webinar 2: Hands-on demonstration: Proposal preparation and submission process, including information on the application platform, detailed submission steps and budget setup. 18 February 2025, 12h00-12h30 (Brussels time).
- Webinar 3: Overview: Information session on the strategic focus and call course topics, including distinctions between EIT-labelled and non-EIT-labelled courses. 18 February 2025, 13h00-14h00 (Brussels time).
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
The proposal must demonstrate a minimum co-funding rate of 30% across the project. Members within a consortium may have different individual co-funding rates, if the overall co-funding for the entire project meets the required minimum of 30%. Costs funded by other EU programmes or sources are not eligible as co-funding to avoid double funding.
The total EIT CC financial support provided is €2.250.000 (up to 20 courses) to allocated as follows:
- EIT-labelled CPD courses: Up to €1.500.000 with each selected project eligible for up to €150.000 (up to courses).
- Non-EIT-labelled CPD courses: Up to €750.000, with each selected project eligible for up to €75.000 (up to 10 courses).
The EIT CC Education Call 2025 seeks proposals across 2 strands for up to 20 financially supported fully remote and asynchronous CPD courses: 10 EIT-labelled CPD courses and 10 non-EIT-labelled CPD courses:
10 EIT-labelled CPD courses (up to €150.000 of EIT CC financial support):
- fully remote and asynchronous
- course implementation: 1-3 months
- high quality standards and recognition (through EIT Label)
- well-rounded approach to professional growth
10 non-EIT-labelled CPD courses (up to €75.000 of EIT CC financial support):
- fully remote and asynchronous
- course implementation: 1-4 weeks
- specialised focus: addressing professional needs within the CCSI sector
- practical and immediate application
The expected duration of participation is up to 6 months.
The following timeline is indicative of the expected phases and durations:
- Pre-course activities: 1-2 months
- Course implementation: 1-3 months (EIT-labelled) & 1-4 weeks (non-EIT-labelled)
- Post-course activities: 1 month
Thematic Categories
- Culture
- Education and training
- New Entrepreneurship
- Other Thematic Category
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Educational Institutions
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- Training Centres
Eligibility For Participation Notes
The call for education CPD courses 2025 is open to all legal entities established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe-associated countries. Eligible applicants include:
- Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): Universities and academic institutions providing tertiary education and professional training.
- Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers: Institutions focused on skills-based learning for career development.
- Business sector entities: Startups, scaleups, micro entreprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and large companies, particularly those involved in CCSI innovation.
- Knowledge and innovation institutions: Research institutions, innovation and technology centres engaged in applied or technological research and education, or cultural institutions with sectoral insights to enhance project outcomes may also be part of the consortium as third additional partner for EIT-labelled courses.
Proposals may be submitted by single beneficiaries (mono-beneficiaries) or by consortia. Eligibility conditions vary depending on the course type:
EIT-labelled CPD courses:
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium consisting of 2 or 3 independent legal entities from EU Member States or countries associated with Horizon Europe including:
- Consortium partner 1 and project lead: Educational partner (HEI or VET provider).
- Consortium partner 2: Business partner (e.g. startup, scaleup, micro entreprises, SME, or large company).
- Consortium partner 3 (optional): Research institution, innovation and technology centre engaged in applied or technological research and education, or cultural institution with sectoral insights to enhance project outcomes.
Non-EIT-labelled CPD courses:
Proposals may be submitted by a single beneficiary (mono-beneficiary) or by a consortium of up to 2 entities from EU Member States or countries associated with Horizon Europe:
- Single beneficiary (mono-beneficiary) requirements: Only HEIs or VET providers are eligible to apply independently.
- Consortium requirements: If applying as a consortium, the proposal must include one HEI or VET provider as project leader and one business sector entity (e.g. startup, scaleup, micro enterprise, SME, or large company).
For both single and consortium applications, the project leader must be an HEI or VET provider to ensure educational quality and alignment with CCSI’s skills needs. Central to the course design, development, and assessment, ensuring academic standards and relevance to CCSI skill demands.
For consortium applications, the commercial member ensures the course’s market orientation, sustainability, and scalability beyond the EIT funding. This structure allows EIT CC to support focused, industry-specific CPD course development, aligning with the Knowledge Triangle Integration (KTI) framework for this call.
Once an application is selected for EIT CC financial support, the financially supported entities will automatically become members of the EIT Culture & Creativity community. As members, they will benefit from the support of the KIC’s ecosystem. To continue their engagement after project implementation, they will be required to choose one of the membership categories described in pages 16-17 of the Call Guidelines.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
Address: 29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia, P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Person:
Nedi Kaffa
Scientific Officer
Email: nkaffa@research.org.cy
EU Contact Point
Αpplicants may submit their inquiries via the official EIT Culture & Creativity Contact Form.