Alliances for innovation - Erasmus+

Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation provide up to €1.4 million over three years to fund partnerships between universities and companies that work together to modernize higher education, develop new curricula, and ensure graduates have the skills employers actually need. If you’re a university looking to strengthen industry connections, or a company wanting to help shape the talent pipeline, these alliances offer substantial funding to make it happen.

The program recognizes a fundamental challenge: higher education and the labor market often operate in separate worlds. Universities develop curricula based on academic traditions and faculty expertise, while companies struggle to find graduates with the practical skills and competencies they need. Alliances for Innovation bring these worlds together, funding partnerships that co-create educational programs, develop innovative teaching methods, and ensure higher education responds to labor market needs.

What makes this program valuable is the requirement for genuine partnership. You can’t just have a university with token industry advisors, or a company that wants universities to train their workers. Alliances must include at least four partners from at least three Erasmus+ Programme Countries, with both higher education institutions and labor market actors (companies, industry associations, chambers of commerce, etc.) playing active roles. This ensures that projects benefit from diverse perspectives and can be implemented across multiple countries.

The European Commission prioritizes alliances that address EU strategic priorities: green and digital transitions, skills for emerging sectors, lifelong learning, micro-credentials, entrepreneurship, and inclusion. Projects typically run three years, giving time to develop curricula, test approaches, train educators, and demonstrate impact.

Key Details at a Glance

What Alliances for Innovation Actually Fund

The grants support comprehensive partnership activities that bridge higher education and industry:

Curriculum Development and Innovation:

• New degree programs, specializations, or courses aligned with labor market needs
• Micro-credentials and short learning programs for upskilling and reskilling
• Work-based learning and apprenticeship programs
• Interdisciplinary programs combining multiple fields
• Programs integrating green and digital competencies
• Entrepreneurship education and innovation training

Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods:

• Challenge-based learning where students solve real company problems
• Project-based learning with industry partners
• Virtual and augmented reality for skills training
• Simulation and game-based learning
• Online and blended learning approaches
• Peer learning and collaborative methods

Skills Development and Competency Frameworks:

• Competency frameworks for emerging sectors or occupations
• Skills gap analysis and labor market intelligence
• Assessment and validation methods for skills
• Recognition of prior learning and work experience
• Digital badges and alternative credentials

Teacher and Trainer Development:

• Professional development for university faculty on industry trends and practices
• Training for company trainers on pedagogical methods
• Exchange programs between universities and companies
• Communities of practice for educators and industry trainers

Knowledge Transfer and Innovation:

• Mechanisms for transferring research and innovation from universities to companies
• Student and faculty entrepreneurship support
• Innovation labs and maker spaces
• Intellectual property and commercialization support

Transnational Cooperation and Scaling:

• Testing approaches across multiple countries and contexts
• Adaptation of successful models to different sectors or regions
• Policy recommendations for education and labor market authorities
• Dissemination and uptake of results across Europe

The grant covers personnel costs (staff time for project activities), travel and meetings, equipment and materials, subcontracting for specific services, and dissemination activities. What it doesn’t typically cover: infrastructure construction, general university or company operations, or activities unrelated to the partnership objectives.

Who Should Apply

Alliances for Innovation are designed for established partnerships or organizations ready to build genuine university-industry collaboration.

You should apply if you:

• Can assemble a consortium of at least 4 partners from 3 Erasmus+ countries
• Include both higher education institutions and labor market actors (companies, industry associations, etc.)
• Have a clear vision for addressing skills gaps or labor market needs
• Can commit staff time and resources to the partnership
• Align with EU priorities (green/digital transitions, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, inclusion)
• Have capacity to manage a multi-year, multi-partner European project

Strong consortia typically include:

• Universities or higher education institutions with relevant programs
• Companies or industry associations representing sectors with skills needs
• VET providers or training organizations
• Research centers or innovation hubs
• Public authorities or labor market agencies
• Student or youth organizations

The program prioritizes:

• Alliances addressing green and digital transitions
• Projects developing micro-credentials and flexible learning pathways
• Initiatives promoting entrepreneurship and innovation skills
• Programs improving inclusion and access for underrepresented groups
• Alliances in strategic sectors (health, advanced manufacturing, ICT, creative industries, etc.)
• Projects with clear sustainability and scaling strategies

You’re probably not a good fit if:

• You can’t assemble the required multi-country, multi-sector consortium
• Your project is purely academic research without industry engagement
• You’re looking for funding for general university operations
• You lack capacity to manage complex European partnerships
• Your proposal doesn’t align with EU skills and education priorities

The most competitive consortia have existing relationships, complementary expertise, and clear plans for how partnership will create value beyond what any single organization could achieve.

Application Process and Timeline

The application process is competitive and requires substantial preparation:

Step 1: Consortium Building (Months 1-3 before deadline) - Identify and recruit partners from different countries and sectors. Ensure you have the required mix of higher education and industry partners.

Step 2: Project Design (Months 2-4 before deadline) - Develop your project concept collaboratively with partners, including objectives, activities, work plan, budget, and expected outcomes.

Step 3: Application Preparation (Month before deadline) - Complete the application form (typically 60-80 pages) including:

• Project description and objectives
• Relevance to EU priorities
• Methodology and work plan
• Partner roles and contributions
• Budget and budget justification
• Impact and dissemination strategy
• Quality assurance and evaluation plan

Step 4: Submission (Deadline: March 7, 2025) - Submit through the European Commission’s application portal. Late applications are not accepted.

Step 5: Evaluation (3-5 months after deadline) - European Commission evaluates applications based on:

• Relevance to EU priorities (30 points)
• Quality of project design and implementation (30 points)
• Quality of partnership and cooperation arrangements (20 points)
• Impact, dissemination, and sustainability (20 points)

Applications must score at least 60/100 total and at least 50% in each category to be funded.

Step 6: Award Notifications (5-6 months after deadline) - Selected consortia are notified and enter into grant agreement negotiations.

Step 7: Implementation (36 months) - Implement your project with annual reporting and mid-term review.

The entire process from application deadline to project start typically takes 6-8 months.

Insider Tips for Competitive Applications

Build a balanced, complementary consortium. Don’t just recruit partners to meet the minimum requirements. Each partner should bring specific expertise, resources, or networks that strengthen the project. Explain clearly what each partner contributes and why this combination is necessary.

Address EU priorities explicitly. The application asks how your project addresses green and digital transitions, lifelong learning, micro-credentials, entrepreneurship, and inclusion. Don’t make evaluators guess—explain clearly and specifically how you address these priorities.

Show genuine co-creation. The strongest projects have universities and companies designing curricula together, not universities developing programs and asking companies to comment. Demonstrate that industry partners are actively involved in all phases, not just advisory.

Focus on skills that matter. Don’t develop curricula for skills that are already well-covered or declining in importance. Use labor market data, employer surveys, and industry foresight to identify genuine skills gaps and emerging needs.

Plan for sustainability from day one. Explain what happens after the three years. Will new curricula be integrated into regular university programs? Will companies continue hiring graduates? Will the partnership continue? Evaluators want to see lasting impact, not projects that end when funding stops.

Include strong dissemination and uptake strategies. The Commission wants projects that influence education and training beyond the immediate partners. Explain how you’ll share results, influence policy, and enable other universities and companies to adopt your approaches.

Be specific about innovation. Don’t just say you’ll develop “innovative curricula.” Explain exactly what’s innovative: new pedagogical methods, integration of work-based learning, use of VR for skills training, micro-credential architecture, etc.

Quantify expected outcomes. Provide specific targets: “We will develop 5 new micro-credential programs, train 200 educators, upskill 1,000 workers, and place 80% of graduates in relevant jobs within 6 months.”

Budget realistically. The €1.4 million maximum sounds like a lot, but it needs to cover three years and multiple partners. Budget should reflect actual costs of staff time, travel for partnership meetings, development work, and dissemination. Unrealistically low budgets suggest you don’t understand what the work requires.

Common Challenges and How to Navigate Them

Coordinating across multiple countries and organizations. Managing partnerships with 4+ organizations in 3+ countries is complex. Establish clear governance structures, communication protocols, and decision-making processes from the start. Identify a strong coordinator with experience managing European projects.

Balancing academic and industry perspectives. Universities and companies have different cultures, timelines, and priorities. Invest time in building mutual understanding, finding common ground, and creating value for all partners.

Ensuring genuine industry engagement. Companies are busy and may struggle to commit time to partnership activities. Make participation valuable for them: access to talent, research collaboration, visibility, or solutions to real business challenges.

Developing curricula that work across countries. Education systems, labor markets, and regulatory frameworks differ across Europe. Design curricula that can be adapted to different national contexts rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

Measuring skills and competencies. Assessing whether students have actually developed the intended competencies is harder than measuring course completion. Develop robust assessment methods and validation processes.

Sustaining partnerships beyond the funding. Many partnerships fade when EU funding ends. Build institutional commitment, demonstrate value to all partners, and create structures that can continue without external funding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can non-EU organizations participate? Partners must be from Erasmus+ Programme Countries (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey). Organizations from other countries can participate as associated partners but can’t receive funding.

Do all partners receive funding? Yes, the budget is distributed among partners based on their roles and activities.

Can we have more than the minimum 4 partners? Yes, larger consortia are common. However, more partners means more coordination complexity. Include partners that genuinely add value, not just to make the consortium larger.

What if our consortium changes during the project? Minor changes (contact persons, etc.) are fine. Adding or removing partners requires Commission approval and may not be allowed.

Can we apply if we’ve received Erasmus+ funding before? Yes, previous funding doesn’t disqualify you. In fact, experience with Erasmus+ programs can be an advantage.

What’s the difference between Alliances for Innovation and other Erasmus+ actions? Alliances for Innovation specifically focus on university-industry partnerships for skills and curricula. Other actions support student mobility, strategic partnerships in other areas, or different types of cooperation.

Do we need to involve students? While not required, involving students in project design and implementation strengthens applications and ensures relevance.

Can we focus on one specific sector? Yes, sector-specific alliances (e.g., healthcare, advanced manufacturing, creative industries) are common and often strong.

How to Apply

Step 1: Review the Erasmus+ Programme Guide and Alliances for Innovation section at erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu.

Step 2: Identify and recruit consortium partners from different countries and sectors.

Step 3: Develop your project concept collaboratively with partners.

Step 4: Register on the European Commission’s application portal and complete the application form.

Step 5: Submit before the March 7, 2025 deadline.

For questions, contact your National Erasmus+ Agency or the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

Europe faces significant skills challenges as economies transition to green and digital futures. Alliances for Innovation provide substantial funding for universities and companies to work together to ensure higher education prepares graduates for the jobs and challenges ahead. If you can build a strong cross-border, cross-sector partnership with clear plans for modernizing skills development, this program offers the resources to make it happen.