Funding worth up to 900,000 euros for research projects in Moldova

The scientific community of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy has taken part in an information session dedicated to the call for subprojects aimed at developing research infrastructure, launched by the Education and Research Ministry (MEC), in partnership with the National Agency for Research and Development (NARD).

The call was presented by Anatolie Topala, representative of the Higher Education in Moldova Project, and Natalia Bolocan, representative of NARD, who provided an overview of the objectives and opportunities of the competition.

“The purpose of the call is to create state-of-the-art research infrastructure in priority areas of national importance, which will enable universities of Moldova to carry out high-quality research activities that are competitive at the international level,” said Anatolie Topala.

During the event, project representatives presented the goals of the competition and the funding opportunities. According to them, the initiative aims to create modern infrastructures capable of supporting high-performance research and interdisciplinary collaborations.

The subprojects will be aligned with the national smart specialization programme SMART Moldova 2024–2027 and will target fields with high innovation potential, such as personalized medicine, biopharmaceutics, sustainable agriculture, alternative energy or nanotechnologies. Two distinct funding lines are available. The first, with a total value of 9 million euros, is meant for the creation or development of state-of-the-art research infrastructure, with funding of up to 900,000 euros per project. The second line, worth 500,000 euros, targets the modernization of existing facilities, with grants of up to 250,000 euros for each project.

During the session, Jana Chihai, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, noted the increased interest on behalf of the scientific community in strengthening and modernizing research infrastructure, as well as in enhancing institutional competitiveness at national and international levels.

“We are open to the opportunities offered by this call, in the context of the need for strategic investments to support the development of research and the expansion of scientific collaborations,” the Vice-Rector emphasized.

The event was attended by heads of departments, chairs and laboratories, as well as researchers who were briefed on the conditions for participating in the competition.

Universities may request research infrastructures that include installations, resources and services, such as major scientific equipment or sets of instruments; knowledge resources, such as collections, archives or structures for scientific information; ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructures, as well as any other means necessary to achieve a level of excellence in research.

The deadline for submitting subproject proposals is 31 May 2026.