Announcements & Calls

The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) is an Africa–Europe funding and collaboration mechanism designed to scale digitally enabled and commercially viable innovations through strong cross-border partnerships. The main JIF 2026 call focuses on cross-border cooperation projects between African and European actors that scale existing revenue-generating solutions. The objective is to further develop their digital components and enable cross-border market expansion. The facility targets innovations where digital technologies – such as advanced data solutions or artificial intelligence – are central to the product, service, or business model rather than an add-on. All supported projects must be climate-positive, meaning they generate a measurable positive contribution to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and/or resilience or present a credible pathway to doing so through project design and implementation. A core priority of JIF is to support AI applications that go beyond generic or experimental use.

Eligible countries for JIF: Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. European partners must be based in one of the 27 EU Member States.

Funding opportunities are made available through the Collaborative Research Programme (CRP) – ICGEB Research Grants, a dedicated source of funding that aims to finance projects addressing original scientific problems of particular relevance for the host country and of regional interest.
Applicants for research grant proposals (identified as “CRPs”) should hold positions at Universities or Research Institutes in any of the ICGEB Member States.

The ICGEB CRP Grants programme was established in 1988 and aims to stimulate collaborative research in Member States and with the ICGEB Component laboratories, promote training of young scientists, and facilitate the creation of appropriate research facilities. The programme supports research projects in basic science, human healthcare, industrial and agricultural biotechnology and bioenergy. A call for applications is launched yearly to:

• Addressing scientific challenges rooted in your country or region
• Building long-term research capacity
• Training the next generation of scientists
• Strengthening international research partnerships

Funding: up to €25,000 per year, up to 3 years, coers consumables, small equipment, travel, and training.

Applications are now open for the second cohort of postgraduate fellowships under the Africa Climate Collaborative Project at the University of Ghana, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
The programme is seeking ambitious Master’s, PhD, and Postdoctoral scholars from across West Africa who are dedicated to becoming thought leaders in the climate resilience and sustainability sector.
This fellowship promotes interdisciplinary research and offers a comprehensive support package, including full tuition coverage at the University of Ghana, research support, accommodation, and a stipend for the duration of the fellowship.
Successful candidates will also receive structured mentorship from experienced faculty and research leaders. Subject to specific research requirements and project alignment, fellows may have opportunities to engage in collaborative research with national and international partner institutions.
Eligibility: Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 as of 1 August 2026.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize has officially opened its 2026 global call for applications offering US$1 million in funding to category winners driving transformative, scalable sustainability solutions.
The Prize recognises practical, community-centred innovations that deliver measurable impact across critical sectors shaping our shared future.
The 2026 Prize recognises impactful solutions in four categories:
1. Health – Strengthening health systems, expanding access to care, disease prevention, and community health outcomes.
 2. Food – Advancing sustainable agriculture, food security, nutrition, and resilient food systems.
 3. Energy – Accelerating renewable energy access, energy efficiency, and low-carbon transitions.
 4. Water – Improving water access, sanitation, conservation, and water resilience.

Academic and research institutions, social enterprises and impact-driven companies, startups and technology innovators and Community-based organisations and grassroots initiatives are eligible.

Contribute to the Collection “Biodiversity at the Brink: Conserving Tropical Ecosystems” in  Home | Discover Life | Springer Nature Link   (eISSN: 2948-2976) , which is an open access journal (Scopus CiteScore 2024 2.7, percentile 55% – Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics) publishing research from all fields relevant to life science. I am convinced that your expertise would greatly enrich the Collection and help us build a strong body of work in this exciting field.

The submission deadline for the Collection is 01 September 2026. To submit your manuscript for consideration in Discover Life as part of the Collection, please follow the steps detailed on this page. When submitting, please indicate the Collection title “Biodiversity at the Brink: Conserving Tropical Ecosystems” (from the drop-down menu on the Details page) and please kindly mention it in your cover letter

This comprehensive two-year Master’s programme aims to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills in Mediterranean forest health in the context of climate change, as well as methods and strategies for mitigating its impacts and supporting forest restoration.

To ensure that the programme effectively responds to sector needs, the University of Catania (project partner) is conducting a stakeholder analysis through tailored questionnaires.

Students and graduates: to better understand educational expectations, training needs, and career aspirations in the field of forest health and management .
To answer this survey, please follow this LINK

Researchers and academics: to identify scientific gaps, emerging challenges, and priority areas for future research and innovation.
To answer this survey, please follow this LINK

Professionals, organisations and stakeholders (other Sector) to analyse the skills and competencies required by the job market, as well as current management practices and sector-specific challenges
To answer this survey, please follow this LINK

For any further details: Prof. Antonella Pane (University of Catania, Italy)
antonella.pane@unict.it