EMotion Artificial Intelligence specialists for Europe (EMAI4EU)

EMotion Artificial Intelligence specialists for EUrope (EMAI4EU) aims to contribute to training the next generation of specialists in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Europe, and in particular specialists in Emotion AI, one of the most promising subsets of Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence essentially refers to computing technologies inspired by how people use their brains and nervous systems to reason and make decisions. The concept of AI has been the source of inspiration for many science fiction writers and futurologists for more than a century. Today, thanks to significant advancements in computing technologies over the past decades, AI is a reality. The application of AI technologies is driving growth at individual, business, and economic levels. The amount of big data being generated by today’s increasingly digitized economy is growing at a rate of 40% each year and is expected to reach 163 trillion gigabytes by 2025. This growth in big data is driving the research and development of AI algorithms. AI solutions are increasingly being customized to serve the needs of several industry sectors, including automotive, healthcare, education, and finance.

EMotion Artificial Intelligence specialists for EUrope (EMAI4EU) aims to contribute to the abovementioned goal by training the next generation of specialists in Emotion AI in Europe. EMAI4EU will strengthen the degree of cooperation between higher education institutions and the private sector across Europe and will contribute to expanding the education offer across Europe and increasing the number of specialists in Emotion AI, in line with the general objectives, themes and priorities of the Call DIGITAL-2022-SKILLS-03-SPECIALISED-EDU - Specialised education programmes or modules in key capacity areas. The aim of EMAI4EU is the development of excellent education and training partnerships, gathering academia, research centres and innovative business to design and deliver a double-degree master’s programme (ISCED Level 7, 120 ECTS) in the field of AI with:

• a specialisation in Emotion AI, and
• a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E).

In addition to such master’s programme, the EMAI4EU consortium will design and develop related self-standing modules to be delivered both on-line and in-person, leading to two different certifications. These self-standing modules will target a wider audience than the master’s programme, especially focusing on professionals in need of up-skilling or re-skilling.

The EMAI4EU online modules in Emotion Artificial Intelligence are a flexible, self-paced learning experience designed by leading experts in the field. Whether you're looking to deepen your technical knowledge or explore new domains, these innovative online courses offer practical, up-to-date content tailored to your learning needs. Each module can be taken independently, with a certificate of completion awarded upon successful assessment.

Release date: to be announced.

Cycle 1 application

For its inaugural intake in the 2025/26 academic year (Cycle 1), EMAI4EU opened applications in November 2024 and closed them in June 2025. The application process was divided into three periods:  

- Period 1: November 1, 2024 – February 10, 2025  
- Period 2: February 11, 2025 – April 14, 2025  
- Period 3: April 15, 2025 – June 2, 2025

Study offers are typically issued one month after the end of each application period. Scholarship awards are communicated to students at the time of their study offer.

Cycle 1 Parallel application for entry year

The timeline for the cohort 2025/26 Parallel application is:
Application period: 6-20 Oct
English and GR check: 21-29 Oct
Programme committee evaluations: 30 Oct-12 Nov
Letters of acceptance: 13 Nov

Scholarships will be allocated on a rolling basis, until all financial support schemes are exhausted for the current recruitment cycle. With this call EMAI4EU will make available 15 full waiver scholarships to be distributed (the nominal value of the granted scholarship is of 5,000EUR per year)

EMAI4EU provides eligible students the financial support to take part to the education programmes and offers scholarship programmes to promote diversity in terms of gender, age, social and economic background. EMAI4U’s scholarships allow the greatest number to have access to high-quality education in digital areas and increase diversity among students and future digital experts.

The students awarded a scholarship will be financially supported during their two years of studies in one of the double-degree in Masters’ programmes offered by EMAI4EU.

Types of scholarships available

Three types of scholarships are available:

• scholarship of excellence, including a full tuition fee waivers and a monthly allowance,
• full tuition fee waivers,
• half tuition fee waivers.

The monthly allowance will be weighted based on the country correction coefficient (CCCs) of the country where a student is studying. Thus, the monthly allowance provided to a student it can vary between the first and second year of studies.

How to apply

To apply to a EMAI4EU scholarship, candidates must enrol into EMAI4EU master’s programme via the EIT Digital Master School Application portal.

Eligibility requirements

EMAI4EU scholarships are available to nationals or residents of one of the eligible countries:

• EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
• Listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (associated countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature

Only students enrolled and accepted in EMAI4EU Masters’ programme are eligible to financial support. When receiving their letter of acceptance and study offer, students will be notified of their scholarship allocation.

Selection criteria

The scholarships will award applicants based on merit. To quantify merit, a merit score (on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the maximum) will be given to each applicant accepted to one of the master’s programmes. Three elements will be considered in assigning a merit score:

• previous academic and professional experience of an applicant,
• curriculum vitae, and
• letter of motivation, which also includes the motivation for an applicant to receive financial support.

The initial merit score value will be an average of the two merit scores assigned by the two Local Programme Coordinators accepting an applicant (the Local Coordinator at the Entry University and the Local Coordinator at the Exit University). The merit scores assigned by Local Programme Coordinators will be reviewed by Programme Leaders to ensure uniformity between the scores given by Local Programme Coordinators from different universities and different countries. A final meeting including the Programme Leaders, all Local Programme Coordinators and the Quality Assurance Manager of the EMAI4EU project will be set at the end of each Recruitment Period to agree and deliberate on the final merit score of each applicant.

Promotion of diversity in terms of gender, social and economic background

The EMAI4EU scholarship programme will thrive to promote diversity and inclusion through its scholarship opportunities:

• Priority will be given to female applicants from any EU country or EU-associated country. The scholarship programme for women will aim to increase female participation in Artificial Intelligence.
• Priority will be given to applicants from RIS countries - included in the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS). The scholarship programme for participants from RIS countries is aimed to support the participation of students from countries with moderate or modest innovation score and with lower gross domestic product. Countries eligible to take part to the RIS include 1) EU members states, 2) Horizon Europe associated countries, and 3) outermost regions such as Guadeloupe, and Réunion (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain).

Payment arrangements

The scholarship is reflected as a discount in the tuition fee. The candidates are informed of the net amount of the tuition fee, after deducting the applicable amount of the scholarship.

• half tuition fee waivers: the nominal value of the granted scholarship is of 2,500EUR per year
• full tuition fee waivers: the nominal value of the granted scholarship is of 5,000EUR per year
• scholarship of excellence, including a full tuition fee waivers and a monthly allowance: the nominal value of the granted scholarship is of 5,000EUR plus a monthly allowance of 900 EUR weighted based on the country correction coefficient (CCCs) of the country where a student is studying.

Number of scholarships available

Scholarships will be allocated on a rolling basis, until all financial support schemes are exhausted for the current recruitment cycle.