As part of T4EU Common European Heritage Week, the Portuguese Catholic University is organizing the Funding4Culture Open Session, aimed at researchers and teachers who wish to strengthen the competitive and international dimension of their arts/culture-related projects.
João Cortez, Director of the Research and Innovation Office at Católica, Helena Castro, Manager of the Joint T4EU Scholarship Office at Católica, and Richard Blais, Program Assistant at Creative Europe, European Commission, are the guest speakers.
During the session, participants will be introduced to key European funding opportunities—including Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, and MSCA Doctoral Networks—as well as practical tools for identifying partners and developing strong proposals.
Open to the public, the session aims to provide a clear, accessible, and action-oriented overview, empowering the academic community to transform ideas into successful funding applications in the areas of art, culture, and/or heritage.
Program
- 14h00 - 14h30 | THE CREA PROGRAMME: FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN HERITAGE | With Richard Blais
Funding opportunities under CREA, with a focus on heritage. Link to other opportunities, opportunity for questions and answers. - 14h30 - 15h00 | TOOLS AND TIPS FOR FINDING PARTNERS FOR YOUR PROPOSAL | With João CortezOverview of relevant portals and best practices for finding the right partners for your project. It is recommended that you bring your laptop to follow along with the practical cases presented.
- 15h00 - 15h30 | FUNDING YOUR HERITAGE RESEARCH IN HORIZON EUROPE | With Helena Castro
An accessible overview for researchers to demystify Horizon Europe and help you identify opportunities relevant to heritage. Participants will come away with a clearer understanding of typical project formats and what to check when aligning their idea with the requirements of the call for proposals. - 15h30 - 16h00 | MSCA-DOCTORAL NETWORKS: A QUICK GUIDE FOR RESEARCHERS | With Helena CastroBrief introduction to MSCA Doctoral Networks — what they fund and how they are structured. Participants will leave with a clearer idea of whether this program suits their interests and how to start an application.
Apply here
Learn more about the speakers
João Cortez is Director of the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) at the Portuguese Catholic University. He holds a PhD in Applied Biotechnology from De Montfort University in the United Kingdom, and between 1999 and 2008 his research at Nottingham Trent University focused on the use of enzymes to modulate the properties of protein-based matrices. Between 2008 and 2012, he held a Science 2007 position at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and in 2012, he became head of the INEB International Projects Office. At i3S, he was head of the Research Funding Office between 2017 and 2019. From 2019 to 2023, he was a research and innovation funding consultant at CBQF-UCP. He has participated in European projects since FP4 and has supported numerous applications in H2020 and HE competitions. He currently coordinates HE-WIDERA LETSGROW, EIT-HEI ELEVATE, and P2030 Deeptech Transfer.
Helena Castro has been manager of the T4EU Joint Grant Office since May 2025, supporting alliance partners in developing collaborative applications for funding. A biochemist with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, she has over 22 years of experience as a researcher (37 publications; h-index 19) and over 4 years as a funding consultant in a private consultancy. In total, she has supported more than 70 grant applications (mainly under Horizon Europe) and secured more than €27 million in funding.
Richard Blais has been a program assistant for over three years in the Creative Europe Program of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture (DG EAC).
Prior to that, he was a communications assistant at Clean Aviation (BE) and worked at the LRE Foundation. He holds a master's degree in Euroculture from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Netherlands) and Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci (Czech Republic).