As of 10 November 2025, Switzerland is officially an Associated Country to the Horizon Europe (HE) programme.

As Swiss-based applicants, can you take part in HE?
YES, you can!

For application in consortium you can also apply as project coordinator!

You must apply to the calls as “beneficiary” (and not as “associated partner”). This is the only way to receive funding from the EC. For calls requiring participation in consortium, you must also include your budget in the total amount requested from the EC.

HE is structured around three main pillars designed to foster research, innovation, & competitiveness across the EU, with a total budget of approximately EUR 95.5 B (2021-27). The pillars are:
1. Excellent Science
2. Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness
3. Innovative Europe.

Check the Funding & Tenders Portal for open calls and eligibility. Build a collaborative consortium if needed and submit your proposal before the deadline. Contact the Research Service for assistance in finding the right call and support with administration and budgeting.

The ERC funds frontier research in any discipline. It welcomes proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research, or introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions. Applicants must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their proposal.

The MSCA promote the education & development of researchers with a focus on the ability to innovate, in all scientific disciplines, and through transnational, interdisciplinary and inter-sector mobility. They are the EU’s reference programme for doctoral education & postdoctoral training.

Pillar 2 of HE funds collaborative research projects in six clusters:

• Health
• Culture & Creativity
• Civil Security for Society
• Digital, Industry, Space
• Climate, Energy, Mobility
• Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources etc.

Have a look to find the right call for you.

Consortia typically need min. 3 institutions, each established in a different EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country, with at least 1 from a MS. They must be legally & financially independent of each other. The Project Coordinator is the lead partner responsible for communication & management.

The EIC funds breakthrough innovations with high market potential. It supports startups, SMEs, and researchers through grants and equity investments to turn pioneering ideas into scalable products and services across Europe.

Pathfinder (C)
• To undertake visionary research with the potential to lead to technology breakthroughs (up to EUR 4M)

Transition (C-I)
• To turn EU research results into innovation opportunities (up to EUR 2.5M)

Adv. Innov. Challenges (C-I)
• To support high-risk deep tech with low market uptake.