The EPSO AD7 Competition for IT Professionals

The EPSO AD7 competition for IT professionals is the EU institutions' route for recruiting experienced specialists into technology roles. Unlike the entry-level generalist competitions, this one is aimed at people who already have several years behind them in infrastructure, project management, cloud, networks or data science — and who want to bring that expertise into the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the EU agencies.

This competition carries the official reference EPSO/AD/429/26, and the application deadline is 10 June 2026 at midday Brussels time. If you work in IT and have been weighing a move into the EU institutions, this is a live opportunity rather than a retrospective one — so this guide focuses on understanding the structure, choosing the right field, and preparing for the test that actually decides your ranking.

Four fields, one choice

The competition is divided into four distinct fields, and you may apply for only one of them. The choice matters, because the main test you sit will be specific to the field you pick. The number of successful candidates sought differs by field:

Each field has its own profile of duties. ICT infrastructure covers data centres, storage, databases, networks and DevSecOps. ICT project management is about running ICT projects, programmes and portfolios end to end. Clouds and networks focuses on enterprise network infrastructure and public or private cloud. Data science spans data engineering, statistical modelling, MLOps, and analytics. Choosing the field that genuinely matches your background is the first strategic decision, because your experience must be relevant to it and the field MCQ will test it directly.

Who is eligible

This is where the AD7 competition differs most sharply from the entry-level route. It demands substantial professional experience, and the exact amount depends on the length of your degree. The principle is a sliding scale: the shorter your qualifying studies, the more years of work you need.

The experience must have been acquired after your degree was awarded, and it must be relevant to the field you apply for. Alongside this, you need the standard general conditions: citizenship of an EU member state, and knowledge of two official EU languages — your main language at C1 and your second language at B2. As with the latest generalist competition, the second language is not restricted to English, French or German.

How the competition is organised

The structure mirrors the modern EPSO model: everything happens online in remotely proctored sessions, and there is no in-person assessment centre. There are three testing components, and understanding their different roles is the key to preparing efficiently.

The reasoning tests come first. You must clear a pass score of 10 out of 20 in verbal reasoning, plus a combined 10 out of 20 across numerical and abstract reasoning. These are gates: you have to pass them, but they do not contribute to your final position.

The field-related MCQ test is the one that counts. It is 30 questions in 40 minutes, taken in your second language, on the technical content of your chosen field, with a pass mark of 15 out of 30. Only candidates who pass the reasoning gates have this test scored, and the scores are then used to rank everyone. Because this is the test that determines who advances, it deserves the bulk of your preparation. Finally, the EUFTE essay is scored only for a limited number of top-ranked candidates — in principle up to 1.5 times the number of places sought — and is pass/fail at 5 out of 10.

How to prepare

Preparation for AD7 splits cleanly along the scoring logic. First, treat the reasoning tests as gates to clear, not as places to excel: enough timed practice to pass comfortably is the right investment, and no more. Second, concentrate your real effort on the field-related MCQ, because that is what ranks you. That means revisiting the technical fundamentals of your field — the duties listed in the official notice are a precise map of what may be tested, so working through them topic by topic is the most efficient use of study time. Third, rehearse the EUFTE essay if you expect to rank highly: it is not a knowledge test but an assessment of structured written reasoning in your second language, based on documentation provided on the day.

One practical point worth stressing: because the whole competition is a single sequence of timed, proctored tests, your ability to perform under time pressure is itself a skill. Candidates who have rehearsed the reasoning formats until they are automatic free up mental space for the parts that actually decide the outcome.

Frequently asked questions

Whichever EPSO competition you are aiming for, the reasoning tests are common ground. Start with a few timed questions and see where you stand — the first set is free.