The MAECI has published the call for proposals for Italy-China-NSFC scientific and technological cooperation 2026-2028 (page in Italian, call in English) for the funding of joint Italian-Chinese projects in the following sectors:

• Environment and Energy (Production, storage and transport of hydrogen; fuel cells; Energy with reference to renewable energies and advanced distributed generation);
• Biodiversity (Marine biodiversity; Use of advanced technologies for species and ecosystem monitoring and conservation);
• Agrifood (food quality and safety through innovative scientific models of evaluation and monitoring)
• Health Science (Cancer Immunotherapy and Cancer Vaccines; Gene Therapy for Genetic and Rare Diseases);
• Interdisciplinary projects to be performed on Large Italian and Chinese research infrastructures (including astronomy, physics, life science, polar and marine science).

The project proposal must be developed jointly by the Italian and Chinese scientific coordinators and must be submitted, for the Italian part, by the Italian PI exclusively through the MAECI portal (in Italian) by December 6, 2025 at 12:00 noon (CEST)

The PI may submit only one project proposal and must also upload the Letter of Endorsement (downloadable from the "downloads" section of this page) duly signed by the legal representative (Rector) to the MAECI portal.

Funding

The maximum funding per project (from the Italian side) is €30,000.00 per year, including mandatory co-funding of at least 50% of the total budget by the Italian PI institution (co-funding may include the cost of Sapienza's staff formally employed on the project – hours per person per month).

Sapienza Procedure

In order to obtain the Rector's signature on the Letter of Endorsement in good time, the PI must send the following documentation to the Scientific Cooperation and Networks Unit (cooperazionepvs@uniroma1.it) no later than 11:59 a.m. on November 25, 2025:

1. copy of the project, including budget;
2. lettera di manleva from the Department Director, countersigned by the Chief departmental administrative officer - RAD, confirming the Department's willingness to cover co-financing costs and all other expenses arising from any funding (a facsimile is available in the "downloads" section of this page);
3. Letter of endorsement (to be submitted for signature by the Rector).

Animal testing

For projects involving animal testing, during the application phase, the PI must declare:

• that they have submitted the project to the Animal Welfare Board - OPBA of their institution;
• that they comply with current regulations (Legislative Decree 26/2014 and Directive 2010/63/EU).

This declaration must be included as a self-declaration in the Metodi section of the application portal (a facsimile is available in the "Downloads" section of this page).

Formal authorisation from the Ministry of Health will be requested by the MAECI if the project is selected and before the experiments begin.

Dual Use

Research proposals involving technologies designed for military use or for both civil and military applications (so-called “dual-use” technologies) will not be accepted under this call.

Please note: Please read and acknowledge the following Linee Guida sulla compliance delle attività di ricerca su tematiche dual-use nell’ambito di collaborazioni fuori dall’Unione Europea (in Italian)

The call for applications and FAQs are available on the following page (in Italian)

For any queries regarding the call for applications, please contact: dgsp-09bandi2@esteri.it

For information regarding Sapienza's internal procedures, please contact the Scientific Cooperation and Networks Unit of the Research Services Area at cooperazionepvs@uniroma1.it