SEA-EU JFS JTC 2025 : New Materials and Green Transition & Climate Resilient, Smart Agriculture using AI & IoT
Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS)
Thematic areas
Topic 1: New Materials and Green Transition
New Materials & Green Transition are essential for tackling nowadays’ big challenges towards global sustainability.
This topic under Call 10 supports joint research on the development and application of advanced materials for sustainable technologies. It focuses on functional materials that enable innovation in fields such as energy, cooling, electronics, and medicine.
The project aims to design and synthesize novel materials with tailored properties, including nanomaterials, thermoelectric materials, and magnetic cooling agents. The collaboration will also explore bio-inspired and hybrid materials for next-generation applications, promoting cross-disciplinary methods and scalable solutions.
The scope of the topic includes but is not limited to the following aspects:
• Functional & Smart Materials:
Thermoelectric materials for energy conversion and cooling
Magnetic materials for refrigeration and power systems
Advanced sorbents and separation materials
• Nanomaterials & Surface Engineering
Nanostructure design and characterization
Application in electronics, photonics, and biomedical devices
• Bio-based & Hybrid Materials
Materials derived from biological templates (e.g. diatoms, protists, viral particles)
Hybrid organic–inorganic structures for sustainable applications
• Synthesis & Fabrication Techniques
Scalable production methods for ultra-clean, two-dimensional materials
Surface modification and functionalization techniques
• Materials Characterization & Modelling
In situ analysis and predictive modelling of material properties
Structure–function relationships across application domains
Topic 2: Climate Resilient, Smart Agriculture using AI & IoT
With increasing climate volatility, both ASEAN and EU regions are facing agricultural challenges. In the pursuit of a sustainable future, a spectrum of cutting-edge technologies converges to establish Climate Resilient, Smart Agriculture, especially with the integrating of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), drones, robotics, smart sensors, Big Data Analytics, precision farming, Farm Management Software and Apps. Collectively, these innovations herald a paradigm shift toward SDGs, ensuring a cleaner, accessible, and pivotal in combating climate change and forging a brighter, resilient future. It can help optimize resource use, improve yields, and reduce environmental impact. ASEAN are dynamically developing innovative AI application systems on the one hand and come with a globally outstanding biodiversity, tropical agriculture, and field-
testing environments. EU partners contribute advanced AI models, sensor technologies, and sustainable farming practices.
The scope of the topic includes but is not limited to the following aspects:
• Agricultural Sciences
Crop science and agronomy
Soil science and irrigation management
Agroecology and sustainable farming systems
• Climate Science
Climate modelling and impact assessment
Adaptation strategies for agriculture
Weather forecasting and early warning systems
• Computer Science & Engineering
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor networks
Data analytics and geospatial technologies
• Environmental Science
Land use and biodiversity conservation
Carbon footprint and emissions tracking
Water resource management
• Social Sciences
Rural development and farmer behaviour
Policy analysis and governance
Socioeconomic impact studies
The JFS wants to support integrated research approaches and specifically encourages the submission of proposals by interdisciplinary consortia including expertise from humanities and social sciences.
Financement
Each partner is funded separately by the national/regional funding organisation they are applying to. They must fulfil the conditions of their funding organisation.
The maximum amount of requested funding per project is 100.000 EUR for a total period of thee years. If the project involves the recruitment of a PhD student, the project duration of the F.R.S.-FNRS sub-project could be up to four years.
Eligible costs items
Personnel costs: 80,000€ EUR per year on average for the duration of the project. The usual duration of ERA-NET research programmes is three years. However, when the project involves a PhD student, the principal investigator can apply for an additional one year funding in order to complete the four years PhD programme. Since this programme is Not co-funded by the European Commission, this final year should be included in the budget submitted to this call.
Equipment: can be eligible up to 20% of the total budget of the project
Running costs: travel expenses; organisation of small scientific events in Belgium; consumables and the following support costs: consumables Publication Designing (conception d’ouvrage) Dictionary Production (réalisation de dictionnaire) Purchase of Books Encoding Software Access Rights Congress Registration Fees Purchase of Computer Scanning Travel costs Visa costs Open Access publication of an article up until 500 euros (see F.R.S-FNRS Open Access policy).
“Overhead”
For “overhead” costs:
Operating expenses: up to 1% within the granted budget. This percentage should be included in the requested operating budget.
Personnel: up to 2% outside of the granted budget. This percentage will be paid upon reimbursement of expenses to institutions by the F.R.S.-FNRS.
Pour postuler
Eligibility of the consortia
Proposals for STI projects must be submitted electronically via the PT-Outline Web Tool, accessible at: https://ptoutline.eu/app/JFS25STI
Eligibility for belgian partners (F.R.S. - FNRS):
Applicants requesting funding from F.R.S. FNRS must comply with the following rules.
The applicant must be affiliated to a university from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB).
At the closure of the call, the applicant should also:
- Be a permanent researcher of F.R.S-FNRS (Chercheur qualifié, maître de recherches ou Directeur de recherche) or;
- Hold a tenure track position (or an assimilated position including pending tenure track) with a research institution from the FWB
After the submission of applications, the F.R.S.-FNRS and the research institutions are required to verify the eligibility of the candidates. The F.R.S.-FNRS reserves the right to refuse those whose eligibility criteria would not comply with the Regulation. In order the check the compliance with these eligibility criteria, please contact your contact person at ULB-TTO (see details below). The complete F.R.S-FNRS rules for international research projects is available at the following link: https://www.frs-fnrs.be/docs/Reglement-et-documents/International/FRS-FNRS_PINT-Multi.pdf
Requis d'admission
Transnational level
* Southeast Asia - Europe Joint Call Project consortia must comprise of at least 3 partners from 3 different countries fulfilling the 2+1 rule: Either 2 partners must be from 2 different Southeast Asian countries and 1 partner from European or 2 partners must be from 2 different European countries and 1 partner from a Southeast Asian country.
* At least 1 partner from each region must be eligible for JFS funding.
* Further, the coordinator must be selected from among the partners eligible for funding.
* The required third partner can be funded by a funding organisation from a country participating in the JFS or bring his own funding.
* The proposals have to cover the thematic areas of “New Materials and Green Transition” or “Climate Resilient, Smart Agriculture using AI & IoT” and shall enhance bi-regional cooperation and develop new partnerships as well as strengthen existing ones.
* Please read carefully the National Regulations from the funding organisation that you are requesting funding from, since the National Regulations may include additional requirements, e.g. certain Technology Readiness Levels or additional submission procedures on national level.
National/regional level
Applicants must provide basic administrative data by submitting an administrative application on e-space within 5 working days after the general deadline of the call to be eligible. Please select the “PINT-MULTI” funding instrument when creating the administrative application.
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