Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Today, 7 November, we celebrate the 156th birthday of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the first person ever to receive two Nobel prizes in two different disciplines. On this day, we pay homage to not only her ground-breaking work, but also the lasting impact of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme and of excellent work and passion of scientists from all over the world, including more than 145 000 researchers who have been receiving EU funding in her name under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 was awarded to Anne L’Huillier, Ferenc Krausz, and Pierre Agostini “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter”. L’Huillier and Krausz supervised or coordinated numerous Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’ projects under the FP6, FP7 and H2020 frameworks. They join the gallery of MSCA-backed researchers that have received the high-profile award.

The MSCA Presidency Conference, organised by the European Commission and the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, is taking place on 14 and 15 November in Toledo, Spain. The event will focus on how the MSCA promotes diverse research careers to tackle global challenges. Check the programme, follow the event online and engage!

The MSCA Science-Policy Pitch Competition will take place during the Presidency Conference. 15 MSCA fellows and alumni will have the chance to present their research or projects bridging science and policy in front of a high-calibre jury and the audience. The competition sessions will take place in-between Conference sessions and will be webstreamed. Follow online to vote for your favourite pitch for the audience winner!

This series of webinars will take place from 27 to 29 November 2023. They will present the Erasmus+ and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programmes and the opportunities they offer to organisations from the Latin American and Caribbean region, wishing to strengthen their cooperation with Europe. The third day will focus on opportunities for individual students and researchers from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as those who wish to move to this region. The webinars will be in Spanish only.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges 2023 call is now open. The Staff Exchanges action offers a unique opportunity to boost knowledge transfer and innovation through international research cooperation projects. The European Commission will allocate €78.5 million to fund around 75 projects promoting cooperation between organisations in the EU and around the globe in research and innovation. The deadline to submit proposals is 28 February 2024.

Interested in enhancing the research and innovation potential of your organization through staff mobility? Would you like to engage in international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary research collaborations? On December 8, 2023, the European Research and Executive Agency (REA) will host a web-based session to offer you comprehensive information about the main features of the MSCA Staff Exchanges Action and how to apply to the call for proposals. The session will be in English.

Are you looking for partners for your MSCA Staff Exchanges proposal? Register now to the first Brokerage Event to exchange project ideas, share expertise, establish contacts with future partners for your project and join consortia. The event will take place on 30th of November 11:30-18:00 GMT+1. it is organised by the MSCA-NET project, in collaboration with Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d, the European Research Executive Agency (REA), European Innovation Council, and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), and the Enterprise Europe Network EEN-MADRID. The event will be preceeded by an information session on the Staff Exchanges 2023 call.

Are you considering applying for the next MSCA Staff Exchanges call? Have a look at 6 practical steps to prepare your application, including tips and tricks to start preparing a successful proposal. This article will guide you through the resources available to get familiar with the eligibility conditions, find the best partners and draft your proposal with experts.

The Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Actions Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) 2023 call is now open. COFUND provides funding for institutional, regional, national or international programmes for training, career development and mobility, through co-funding mechanisms. The scheme spreads the MSCA’s best practices by promoting high standards and excellent working and employment conditions. The deadline for submission of proposals is 8 February 2024.

Are you considering applying for the next MSCA COFUND call? Have a look at 6 practical steps to prepare your application, including tips and tricks to start preparing a successful proposal. This article will guide you through the resources available to get familiar with the eligibility conditions, find the best partners and draft your proposal with experts.

MSCA Doctoral Networks provide support partnerships of organisations from different socio-economic sectors across Europe to implement doctoral programmes. This call will fund over 130 projects in all scientific fields and the training and skills development of 1600 doctoral candidates. The call will close on 28 November 2023.

Are you applying to the Doctoral Networks 2023 call? The deadline is 28 November 2023! In case you missed the dedicated information session you can rewatch it now, download the presentations and check the questions and answers provided during the event. MSCA Doctoral Networks provide support to partnerships of organisations from different socio-economic sectors across Europe to implement doctoral programmes.

The Slovak Government has opened a new call under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan to support MSCA Seal of Excellence holders and applicants with a high score who applied to Postdoctoral Fellowships (excluding Global Fellowships) under Horizon Europe but failed to be funded due to budget constraints. The deadline to submit proposals is 31 December 2023.

The revised version of the MSCA Green Charter Guidance Material was recently published. The document aims to complement the MSCA Green Charter and provides updated guidelines, good practices, and other useful resources to develop greener policies and practices in research practices and management. This Guidance Material is based on input from experts on greening and sustainability in higher education systems.

Don’t know where to start when it comes to communicating about your EU-funded project? Then check out the European Research Executive Agency’s updated guidance which includes: two clips with tips on why and how to communicate about your work, an interview with two EU-funded projects on how to make the most of social media, and a leaflet which highlights the differences between communication, dissemination and exploitation.

The study, conducted by the European Research Executive Agency, in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, confirms excellence in the research and innovation potential of the H2020-MSCA-ITN scheme. It also provides important recommendations for policy-makers and applicants, as well as points for improvement to enhance innovation and excellence across Europe and beyond.

On 10 November 2022, the European Research Executive Agency (REA) organised a cluster event gathering over 160 relevant actors from 75 EID projects funded under Horizon 2020. A key goal of the meeting was to document successes, good practices and lessons learnt, as well as provide recommendations to help improve and enhance the efficiency and impact of the programme for fellows, industry and academia in the future, thus contributing more effectively to the corresponding EU priorities.

A recent study published on the Open Research platform F1000 Research analysed the importance of numerical scores in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) projects. The aim was to assess whether there were differences in reviewer comments’ linguistic characteristics after the numerical scoring was removed in 2020. The findings indicate that the removal of numerical scores did not contribute to meaningful differences in the evaluation procedure of the ITN proposals or its outcome.

The MSCA-NET project has published its fifth edition of the Policy Brief on Synergies. This policy brief aims to provide a short, but comprehensive overview of the synergistic approach to research and innovation funding supported by the European Commission. The brief aims to help researchers and organisations better understand the policy objectives in the context of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.