📋 Tender Overview
The Ministry of State, Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy Service, the Ministry of the Economy, the National Research Fund (FNR) and Luxinnovation are launching a joint call for projects to offer companies and research institutions a new funding opportunity to support consortia wishing to take advantage of 5G communication technologies in their field of research or activity.
This joint call for projects is taking place in two phases. The first phase, between 15 November 2023 and 9 February 2024, will allow interested economic actors to submit their projects (abstract, planned research, timeline, budgets, etc.)
Following an evaluation process that will be conducted by the partners of this call for projects, the preselected projects will be the subject of a second phase of submission, between 25 March and 23 May 2024. A more detailed description of their project will then be reviewed by a panel of external experts. The results will be announced in October 2024, after which the implementation of the projects can begin.
The four themes of the call for projects: Smart Environment, Smart Cities, Industry 4.0 and Technologies are in line with the priority sectors of the Luxembourg economy. 5G communication technologies are powerful enablers for applications in emerging areas such as data-driven decision-making, AI, IoT, and automation, with promising impacts in terms of competitiveness and resilience.
"The government is convinced that 5G communication technologies are essential for the next surge of productivity and innovation in the different sectors of the Luxembourg economy," says Minister of Communications and Media Xavier Bettel.
Economy Minister Franz Fayot adds: "Following the success of the joint calls for projects previously launched in the field of health technologies and High Performance Computing, it is appropriate to launch a joint call for projects specific to 5G technologies, aimed at stimulating the adoption of these new technologies by companies, through strong public-private partnerships. Indeed, launching projects within the framework of public-private partnerships is a new way of helping companies that makes it possible both to effectively encourage innovation and the use of technologies of the future."
The application process will be done via the dedicated platform www.research-industry-collaboration.lu set up in 2021 by Luxinnovation. The national innovation agency will be responsible for monitoring the ideas posted on the platform, and will connect public and private partners interested in participating. "5G communication technologies are a real driver of innovation in many application areas such as the smart environment, smart cities or Industry 4.0. As part of this new joint call for projects, Luxinnovation will facilitate connections and collaboration between innovative companies and cutting-edge public research organisations. The rapprochement of these two worlds is an essential lever in the digitalisation of the Luxembourg economy currently underway", explains Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation.
"The societal, economic, and technological benefits of 5G are closely linked to ongoing research efforts, making it a critical area of study and development for governments, industry, and academia. As researchers explore new possibilities and applications, they can make discoveries that were not initially considered, driving innovation across many industries. We want to bring together all the players in the ecosystem so that they can work on research and innovation projects that will allow them to accelerate the realization of these discoveries in Luxembourg," explains Dr Marc Schiltz, CEO of the National Research Fund.
