Funding for University Digitalization: FERS, FENG and KPO in Practice (2026)
How to fund university digitalization and an AI platform in 2026: FERS, FENG, KPO. Budgets, institutions, rules, and how to describe a project to secure a grant.
University digitalization rarely fails for lack of ideas. It fails when the money question arises. In 2026 that question has become sharper: the draft state budget reduced expenditure on science and higher education to 1.06% of GDP, which KRASP described as the lowest level since the 2018 reform. The subsidy at many universities has stagnated while costs continue to rise, with the bulk of funds absorbed by salaries. For larger digital investments from the operating budget, there is simply no money.
The straightforward conclusion: funding for university digitalization is now a prerequisite for any serious implementation, not an optional extra. The money exists — over the 2021–2027 framework, sums running into hundreds of millions of euros are earmarked for higher education, and several streams specifically finance the digitalization of teaching, staff competencies, and infrastructure. This guide maps the programmes, their budgets, and their logic. It also shows how to describe a project so as to fund an implementation — not just a hardware invoice.
The state of the sector is described in a separate article on university digitalization in 2026 — gaps, financial pressures, and strategic direction. Specific implementation components are covered in AI in academic teaching and GDPR and AI Act at universities — the two most frequently funded themes in grant applications.
Caveat: the figures below indicate the scale of programmes, not a promise of funding for any specific project. That is determined by the call for proposals, the evaluation criteria, and competition.
Three Streams, Three Logics
University digitalization funding flows from three sources; each operates on a different logic.
| Programme | What it is | Scale / budget | What it funds relevant to digitalization |
|---|---|---|---|
| FERS — European Funds for Social Development | successor to POWER; “people” axis: employment, education, accessibility | approx. EUR 4.88 billion total allocation; approx. EUR 700 million directed at universities | digital competencies of administrative staff, distance learning, accessibility |
| FENG — European Funds for a Modern Economy | pro-innovation programme; R&D and infrastructure | large national allocation (incl. measure 2.4) | research infrastructure, projects linking academia with business |
| KPO / national programmes | recovery and transformation | digital and competency component | staff reskilling, educational standards, digital competencies |
Operationally, FERS is the closest to student services and teaching.
FERS: Funding for People and Processes, Not Just Servers
FERS continues the Human Capital Programme and POWER. The intermediary institution for the “Skills” and “Accessibility” priorities is the National Centre for Research and Development. For universities digitalizing student services, the measures listed explicitly in the programme matter: developing digital and management competencies of administrative staff, and changes in the management of the teaching process, including distance learning.
This is an important detail. FERS funds the redesign of processes around technology — not just the technology purchase itself — and it is precisely processes that determine the success of any implementation, not licences. A separate, significant pool goes to accessibility; it includes, among others, universities that have not previously benefited from support in this area. Digital accessibility (WCAG) is today an obligation, so this component is easy to justify.
For a modular implementation — such as the MenToR platform with DEAN, LUMEN, and FORUM modules — the natural fit with FERS is funding for staff competencies and process redesign rather than the licence itself, in line with the programme’s priority logic.
FENG: For Research and Infrastructure Projects
When an implementation is linked to research activities — data analytics, knowledge platforms, projects at the interface of academia and business — FENG is the natural source. Measure 2.4 “Research infrastructure for a modern economy” funds, among other things, consortia involving universities and institutes. Formally, FENG is more demanding than FERS. In return, it opens up budget ceilings unavailable in “soft” programmes.
Why Budget Pressure Changes the Calculation
It is worth connecting two threads here. Since the subsidy has stagnated and costs are rising, every euro spent on digitalization must return in the form of recovered time or fewer errors. This is actually good news for a grant application. Social programmes reward systemic and lasting impact — precisely the kind of process saving that can be measured before and after. Modularity also provides flexibility — a project can be divided into phases and the scope adjusted to match the available pool, and implementation can begin with just one area.
How to Describe a Project to Fund a Platform, Not Hardware
The most common mistake in grant applications? Describing the purchase of a tool rather than the change it enables. Here are four principles that avoid this trap.
- The focus is on the process, not the licence. Show how student case processing time is reduced and by how much the error rate falls — with before-and-after measurement.
- Staff competencies are a separate, fundable component. Training the team on a new platform fits directly within FERS objectives.
- Compliance and accessibility are scoring advantages. GDPR, AI Act, and WCAG built into a solution lower the project’s risk score — and risk is part of the evaluation.
- Sustainability of results must be demonstrated. Describe what will remain after the funding period ends and how the process will be maintained going forward.
From Application to Implementation
The funding exists, programme priorities align with university needs (competencies, distance learning, accessibility), and modularity makes it easier to match a project to a call for proposals. What is typically missing is one thing: a solution that ties process, compliance, and accessibility together in a single place, so it can be described as a systemic outcome rather than a shopping list.
The MenToR platform was built for precisely this scenario: three modules launched separately or together, data held exclusively within the European Union, GDPR and AI Act built in, an accessible interface (WCAG) throughout. Planning a digitalization project for a specific call for proposals? Let us start with a brief discovery session — we will help match the module scope to the available funding pool.
Frequently Asked Questions
From which funds can university digitalization be financed in 2026? The main sources are FERS (digital competencies of administrative staff, distance learning, accessibility), FENG (research infrastructure, incl. measure 2.4), and national programmes and KPO (reskilling, educational standards). For student services and teaching, FERS is the closest fit.
How much funding is allocated to universities under the FERS programme? Total FERS allocation is approximately EUR 4.88 billion, of which approximately EUR 700 million is directed at universities. The intermediary institution for the “Skills” and “Accessibility” priorities is NCBR.
Can funds be used to finance the purchase of an AI platform? Yes, although it is more effective to fund process change and staff competency development than the licence itself. Social programmes reward lasting systemic impact, so the application should describe process savings and competency building rather than a list of purchases.
Why does budget pressure increase the importance of grants? Because the subsidy at many universities has stagnated while costs are rising; there is simply no money in the operating budget for larger digital investments. EU funds are therefore becoming the primary source of financing for implementations, and savings from automation become the argument in the application.