EUREKA Network: Artificial Intelligence - Quantum Technology Call '19

This call is aimed at consortia of research institutions and companies from Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Canada, Austria, Spain, South-Korea, Turkey and the UK who want to jointly implement a science-based innovation project. Only two partnering countries have to be involved in a project.

Participants are invited to submit applied research and innovation project proposals in the following thematic domains:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Quantum Technology/Quantum sensing

Eligibility criteria

In order to apply to the present call, the partners must meet the following qualifications:

• The consortium should include at least two (for profit) independent companies from two of the participating countries. The participation of research institutes/universities is welcome according to each country’s funding regulations.
• The project partners must express their willingness to cooperate, on a win-win/fair basis in the development of a new product, industrial process or service.
• The product, process or service must be innovative and there must be a technological risk involved.
• The project must have a civilian purpose.
• The project should benefit all involved partners in a well-balanced consortium.
• The project should have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the technologic cooperation between the participants (e.g. increased knowledge base, commercial leads, access to R&D infrastructure etc.).
• A signed consortium agreement is mandatory before the actual start of the project. The consortium agreement should at least include the ownership and use of know-how and IPR settlements
• The duration of the project may not exceed 36 months.

Any partner whose collaborative industrial research and innovation project is consistent with the aforementioned criteria can apply to the present call in accordance with their own laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect, on a non-exchange of funds basis, and subject to budgetary availability.

Each participating funding body may apply additional eligibility criteria based on their national regulations. Applicants are strongly advised, prior to submitting the application, to contact their funding body (Swiss contact below) to discuss their project idea and check the eligibility of the project. Partners from other EUREKA countries or countries outside of EUREKA can also participate, but funding must be secured within the deadlines for the call.

Submission and approval procedures

In order to apply for this call the following documents are mandatory:

• EUREKA Project Form: The project consortium should fill out the project description in the EUREKA Project Form’ . The form must be completed in English. For this call specific instruction for filling out the 'EUREKA Project Form’ is available (see Section 8 of the call text). The project consortium is strongly advised to follow this instruction and describe all necessary elements in the form as requested. You can contact your EUREKA national office to get support preparing the document (see below for detailed information per funding agency in section 7)

• Annex 1 – Additional Project Infomation: Additionally, the project consortium has to fill out and submit Annex 1 with additional project information not included in the official EUREKA Project Form.

• Annex 2 – Project Budget per Partner: The template for the budget must be used.

• Annex 3 - GANTT diagram: There is no formal format for the GANTT diagram, but the individual WP, milestones and partners must be clearly visible in the GANTT format used.

The completed EUREKA application form, Annex 1, budget, GANTT diagramme and document with signatures should be sent to [email protected] with subject: AI&QT multi-lateral call 2019 before 1. July 2019, 17:00 (CET) at the latest. The email subject line should read: “AI&QT multi-lateral call 2019”.

In parallel to the submission of the EUREKA project form (both PDF editable version and a scanned signed version), all project partners are required to submit national funding application, if required, to their respective funding bodies, taking into account all relevant national procedures and submission rules. Deadline for submission might differ between the participating funding bodies (see below for detailed information per funding agency).

In Switzerland, the participants have to submit an Innosuisse application as described here for an Innosuisse Innovation project. Please mark in the title “EUREKA AI/QT Project”.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated nationally based on the EUREKA application including the annexes and national application forms if required. The national evaluations will subsequently be coordinated by the relevant national funding agencies.

Funding details

Funding will only be provided to labelled projects that are positively evaluated by all participating funding bodies, taking the common ranking list into account. Funding of project partners is subjected to budgetary availability and national funding conditions stipulated by each funding body.

Any IPR arising from cooperative project activities under this call shall be regulated in a Consortium Agreement (CA) in accordance with the relevant laws of the countries participating in the project. A signed CA on the execution and commercialisation of the projects results is mandatory for selected projects and must be send to the relevant national funding agencies no later than 3 months after the results of the evaluation has been communicated. The project start can in any case not be prior to the approval of the signed CA.

> Information on scope, eligibility criteria, call procedure as well as funding rules can be found in the EUREKA Network AI QT Call 2019 document.

Switzerland

Type of finance: Grant

Allocated budget: unlimited

Max funding per projects: CHF 1 Mio.(app. €880.000)

Specific Swiss National rules

Only consortia consisting of at least 1 Swiss company and 1 Swiss University or Research Organisation, sharing the project costs 50:50 can apply for funding. Academic partners are funded 100%. Companies self-fund their participation and pay 10% of the funding contribution to the Swiss Research Organisation. In return they are entitled to non-exclusively exploit the project results in their business domain.

Eligible costs and funding rates

Salaries, consumables, international travel, equipment depreciation.
Swiss universities are funded 100%.
Swiss companies self-fund their participation.
A self-funded participation of Swiss companies without participation of a funded Research Organisation is possible

Additional documents required:

National funding application: https://www.innosuisse.ch/inno/en/home/start-your-innovation-project/innovationsprojekte.html

Innosuisse Contact person:

Ms. Colette John-Grant

+41 58 466 77 32

[email protected]