The European Union is gearing up to tackle its worsening semiconductor skills gap with a new wave of funding. In line with the European Chips Act, the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) will open three dedicated calls for proposals on 7 July 2026, channeling a combined €45 million in EU budget toward education, training, reskilling, upskilling, and talent development across the continent’s semiconductor ecosystem. The calls aim to strengthen Europe’s capacity to design and manufacture advanced chips by building a larger, better-trained workforce.

To help potential applicants navigate these opportunities, the Chips JU Office and AENEAS are co-hosting an online Information Session on 18 June 2026, from 14:00 to 17:15 CEST. The event, moderated by AENEAS Technical Director Patrick Cogez, will break the calls down into three dedicated blocks, each featuring context from the European Commission and National Funding Authorities, a detailed presentation from the Chips JU Office, project idea pitches, and a live Q&A. Organisers explicitly encourage the AENEAS community and other stakeholders in semiconductor skills to attend and forge consortia ahead of the submission deadline on 24 September 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time.

The largest call, Skills Hubs of Excellence, comes with a €20 million EU budget and is expected to draw co-funding from national authorities. It will support regional or thematic centres that coordinate semiconductor training and education, acting as magnets for talent and innovation. A second call, the Pilot Federation, is backed by €10 million from the EU, also requiring national co-financing, and is designed to test collaborative models that link universities, research centres, and industry to deliver standardised upskilling programmes. The third, Stimulation of Chip Design, is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) fully funded by the EU with €15 million; it focuses on attracting students and professionals into integrated circuit design through outreach, course development, and hands-on projects.

Together, these instruments represent a multi-pronged approach: direct investment in infrastructure-like hubs, experimental federated training networks, and broad promotional campaigns for a critical discipline. The emphasis on co-funding from national authorities for the first two calls signals an intent to align EU-level strategy with domestic priorities, while the fully EU-funded CSA on chip design underscores a recognition that design talent remains a bottleneck despite rising fabrication capacity. For industry players, academia, and training providers, the June info session will be an essential guide to the application rules, partnership models, and strategic focus of the 2026 calls, with registration details available on the AENEAS website.

Responding to the growing semiconductor skills shortage in Europe and the objectives of the European Chips Act, the Chips Joint Undertaking is launching three dedicated Skills-related Calls in July 2026 to support ambitious initiatives in semiconductor education, training, re-skilling, up-skilling and talent development across the European ecosystem.

To help the community better understand these upcoming opportunities and prepare future collaborations, the Chips JU Office, in cooperation with AENEAS, is organising the Info Session on the Chips JU 2026 Calls on Skills on 18 June 2026, 14:00 – 17:15 CEST.

What to expect?

The session will include 3 Call-related blocks, including:

highlights from the European Commission and National Funding Authorities;

presentations of the Calls by the Chips JU Office;

project idea presentations;

dedicated Q&A sessions for each Call.

This infosession is moderated by Patrick Cogez, AENEAS Technical Director.

About the Chips Skills Calls

The 2026 Skills Calls include:

Skills Hubs of Excellence (HoE) — €20M EU budget (co-funding expected by National Funding Authorities)

Pilot Federation — €10M EU budget (co-funding expected by National Funding Authorities)

Stimulation of Chip Design — €15M EU budget (CSA, EU funding only)

Calls launch: 7 July 2026

Submission deadline: 24 September 2026 (17:00 Brussels time)

We warmly encourage AENEAS community interested in semiconductor skills development to join the session.

More information, agenda and registration here.

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