Important dates:
✅ Applications open: July 4th, 2025
⏳ Call closing: October 31, 2025
📣 Results announced: November 2025
🕒 Budget must be spent by: November 30, 2026
The goal of 4TU.NIRICT is to strengthen and support collaboration among researchers and practitioners of the 4TU institutes working in the ICT domain. It promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science domains, as well as the diversity and inclusion of the Dutch ICT research community. In this way it intends to increase the impact of ICT research in The Netherlands.
Call for Proposals
The government of The Netherlands has identified ten key enabling technologies for which it has defined ambitions which should "contribute considerably to our earning power, contribute to solving societal challenges and are important for national security”.1 Multiple of these key enabling technologies (e.g., Imaging technologies, Mechatronics and opto-mechatronics, Artificial intelligence and data science, Optical systems and Integrated photonics, Semiconductor technologies, Cybersecurity technologies) heavily depend on advancements in ICT technology. ICT challenges are traditionally approached from either an Electrical Engineering (EE) or a Computer Science (CS) perspective. However, successful discoveries and innovations arise at the intersection of different disciplines. To stimulate research at the important intersection between EE and CS (hardware/software), NIRICT opens a funding call for research projects in this area.
The topics of the research should also be in line with the key enabling technologies identified in the NTS. The funding can be used for research infrastructure, materials, and activities such as data collection, dissemination, and impact generation as well as funding of temporary staff such as teaching assistants or scientific programmers for these activities.
Application guidelines
To apply for funding, submit a proposal in the following format describing the five items mentioned below. The page limit is one A4 with a 1-page appendix on the costs for the planned activities.
1. Who are the applicants?
State i) name, ii) position, and iii) affiliation (section/department & university) of the applicants. For the contact person, also add email and phone number.
At least one applicant from each of the 4TU.NIRICT affiliated universities taking part in the application must be a scientific staff member and the proposal must have a good balance between the contribution from Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.
Proposals with only applicants inside the 4TU.NIRICT community must include scientific staff members from at least three different 4TU universities.
Proposals with applicants outside the 4TU.NIRICT community are allowed under the following condition: at least two applicants must be a scientific staff member at a different 4TU.NIRICT affiliated university.
2. What will the funding be used for?
The proposal must address research with ICT signature, incorporating aspects of both Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, ideally on equal level on involvement, and should fit within the scope of one of the key enabling technologies defined in the NTS. Briefly describe the research project and the aspects that could benefit from this funding. Explain why these aspects cannot or are difficult to be funded by other sources.
3. How much funding is requested?
For this call, a total budget of €100K is available, and a maximum budget of €50K per project. The requested funding is expected to be in balance with the expected benefits and impact within and beyond the 4TU.NIRICT community.
Please include a contextualized breakdown of costs to motivate the requested amount in your proposal using this budget template (max one A4 page).
4. Why is it supporting the goal of 4TU.NIRICT?
Describe what impact your project aims and how it is aligned with the 4TU.NIRICT goals. Please also describe what the added value is of conducting this project in the 4TU context.
5. When will the activity be carried out or the funding be used?
Provide a plan of the work and/or scheduling of the activities to be funded. The funding is available until and must be spent before November 30, 2026.
Proposals will be evaluated based on
1) the extent to which the proposed activity supports the goals of the funding scheme ("Why"),
2) specificity of the proposal regarding "What" and "When", and
3) appropriateness of the amount of funding requested ("How much").
Procedure
Please submit the proposal following the above format as a pdf file by e-mail to Margje Mommers (M.Mommers@tue.nl).
- Applications can be submitted until October 31, 2025
- Applications will be evaluated by the 4TU.NIRICT board and applicants will be notified of the decision on acceptance in November 2025.
If funding is awarded, we request a publicly available final report on the activities carried out in the scope of the project or sources (e.g., in the form of a website featuring a written and/or visual report, a short movie, etc.). If the nature of the type of measure or activity does not warrant such publicity, e.g., for privacy reasons, please indicate so already in the proposal.
The 4TU.NIRICT support has to be acknowledged in corresponding documents and on websites.
The financial administration of the funding is to be discussed with 4TU.NIRICT. It can either be via a direct invoice to 4TU.NIRICT or a reimbursement. Both need accordance in advance and must be arranged within one month after the funding has been used.
Visit our website for the list of all 4TU.NIRICT funded projects and their final reports.
For questions about this funding scheme, please contact:
Margje Mommers - m.mommers@tue.nl (TU/e)