Nearly 40 experts from the National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes at the Polish National Centre for Research and Development (NCP/NCBR), together with the Horizontal Contact Points network and 16 external experts, contributed to the 4th edition of the Horizon Europe Project Manager Academy. They engaged with participants across nine thematic modules and nine accompanying sessions. Almost 900 participants joined the training programme every week.

Between early March and the end of April 2026, a comprehensive 40-hour training programme was delivered, covering the entire project lifecycle in Horizon Europe—from identifying funding opportunities and building consortia, through proposal preparation, to project implementation, reporting, and audits.

During this year’s edition of Academy, the participants attended sessions devoted, among others, to the structure of the Horizon Europe programme, rules for participation, preparation of the administrative and substantive parts of the proposal (Excellence, Impact, Implementation), issues related to gender equality, open science and data management, as well as the proposal evaluation process, grant agreement preparation, and project implementation and financial management.

The Project Manager Academy remains one of the key tools for building competencies and knowledge needed to successfully apply for and implement Horizon Europe projects –  Director NCP/KPK, Piotr Świerczyński.

The accompanying sessions provided a valuable complement to the programme, showcasing beneficiaries’ best practices, offering in-depth case studies (including ERC, EIC, Widening), and highlighting practical aspects of project management.

Piotr Świerczyński, Director of the National Contact Point, summarised the 4th edition of the Project Manager Academy by thanking the participants for their perseverance, regular attendance, and high level of engagement, and congratulated all those who completed the full training cycle.

Participants of the 4th edition of the Academy were primarily representatives of universities (34%), research and scientific institutes (24%), small and large enterprises (17%), and public administration (9%). The diversity of participants is very encouraging, as experience shows that across all types of organisations there is a need to strengthen high-level expert competencies that facilitate the preparation and submission of project proposals, as well as efficient administrative management of Horizon Europe grants.

We are pleased that the 4th edition of the Academy set a record in the number of certificates awarded. In the first edition, 589 certificates were issued; in the second, 597; and in the third, 575. In the 4th edition, based on tests completed after each module, we awarded a total of 608 certificates confirming participants’ knowledge of the Horizon Europe programme. This brings the total number of trained Horizon Europe project managers across all four editions of the Academy to 2,369.

We congratulate all graduates of the 4th edition of the Project Manager Academy and thank you for your strong and regular participation. We are pleased that the Academy consistently attracts such great interest.

We wish you every success in submitting proposals to Horizon Europe!

We invite you to follow the information on upcoming training initiatives and events that complement the Academy’s offer. Graduates will also be offered advanced and follow-up training within the Project Manager Academy Follow-up series.