JRC - Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) - 2026 call for expressions of interest

Research

Funding organisation:

Joint Research Centre - European Commission

What?

To enhance the science-policy interface, the JRC has launched the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) program to establish collaborations with Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and universities from EU Member States and countries associated to the EU Research Programme Horizon Europe. The partnership will offer opportunities to a new generation of doctoral students, with particular focus on research for policy-making.

JRC has published the 2026 call for expressions of interest for the Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) in the following 8 themes:

• 26.B: Autonomous discovery for integrated EU policy modeling
• 26.C: Leveraging AI in energy and mobility systems
• 26.D: AI, geospatial intelligence, and environmental policy integration to enhance ecosystem resilience
• 26.E: AI-enabled resilience, security and sustainable infrastructure
• 26.F. Leveraging AI and data standards to advance disease prevention, detection, and treatment
• 26.G: Data-driven and AI-Enabled approaches for nuclear science and technology
• 26.S: Leveraging AI to improve policy design and evaluation
• 26.T: Complex AI systems' evaluation

Who?

The objective of the CDP is to establish strategic collaborations in these fields with higher education institutions characterised by research excellence and international reputation in the field in order to:

• train a new generation of doctoral students in science and technology with a focus on the science-policy interface, able to understand the research needs at different stages of the policy cycle, capable of providing scientific support to policy and of using transferable skills in science communication and knowledge management;
• co-develop, co-host and co-supervise doctoral studies between higher education institutions and the JRC;
• strengthen collaboration between the JRC and higher education institutions by promoting mutual enhancement of related skills and competences, combining existing knowledge and capacities, and enhancing networking in key scientific areas.

The CDP Program will:

• Raise excellence and extend traditional academic research by incorporating a science-policy interface dimension into doctoral studies. CDP provides young researchers with a balanced combination of research-related competencies transferable to the interface between policymaking and science.
• Provide and support high quality research for the PhD project by sharing JRC competences, knowledge and facilities.
• Lead to the award of a doctoral degree (PhD) by the HEI/university. The doctoral studies are co-designed, co-hosted and co-supervised by the JRC and the HEI/university.
• Be specifically referenced as a collaborative scheme between the HEI/university and the JRC in the diploma or in a supplement to the diploma as well as in the PhD thesis itself.

Application?

You can apply for the CDP via the website. Please note:

• The 2026 Call for Expressions of Interest is formulated around eight Collaboration Themes. Applicants may submit one proposal for each Collaboration Theme. When multiple proposals from the same Partner Institution are successful, a single CDP agreement covering multiple Collaboration Themes will be concluded with the JRC.
• The JRC is looking to establish new CDP partnerships around each Collaboration Theme, with each theme resulting in up to four collaborative PhD projects. The themes and corresponding projects are distributed across all eight scientific Directorates of the JRC.
• Through these new thematic CDP collaborations, the JRC is pursuing robust partnerships with HEIs that go beyond individual research groups. We strongly encourage researchers from different groups, faculties, and schools within the same institution to submit a joint proposal.

Important note:

• The CDP does not involve exchange of money between the JRC and the HEI/university. Each Institution covers the cost of the doctoral candidate according to his/her stay at the respective institution. While staying at the JRC premises, the JRC will cover the costs of the students including salary, necessary training and work-related travel costs (see contract and working conditions of grantholder category 20)
• The stay of a doctoral candidate at the JRC will be covered with a single grantholder category 20 contract. Each PhD project will be subjected to an individual work plan prepared and agreed jointly between the JRC and the HEI/university.

The doctoral student will spend a minimum of 12 months and, if allowed by the applicable national law of the respective JRC site, a maximum of 36 months at the JRC. Any long-term transfer from one JRC site to another is excluded.

 

More information?

 For more information: 

• 2026 Call for expressions of interest: Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme

Detailed information for each theme can be found on the website mentioned above. The documents available at the bottom of the page provide a comprehensive overview of the information for each theme.

Deadline intern

13.09.2026, 25.09.2026

Contact Hasselt University?

E-mail brecht.vanhoof@uhasselt.be

Tel. +3211268744