The European Commission has announced new calls worth over €1.25 billion to support research under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), part of the Horizon Europe programme. This funding will develop excellent doctoral and postdoctoral programmes and support collaborative research and innovation projects.
The funds will provide jobs for around 10,000 researchers who will be able to carry out their research while acquiring new skills and developing their careers.
This year’s funding round will start with the opening of three calls this week:
- The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships help experienced researchers acquire new skills, develop their careers, and gain international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral experience by working abroad. The call, with a budget of €417.2 million, will close on September 11.
- The MSCA COFUND helps organisations create or enhance their own doctoral training and postdoctoral fellowship programmes, with the goal of recruiting researchers and attracting international talent by co-funding a significant share of their costs. The call, with a budget of €104.8 million, will close on September 26.
- The Feedback to Policy initiative will allocate €2 million to strengthen thematic links between MSCA projects, increasing the visibility of their contribution to key EU policy priorities and exploring ways to maximise the programme’s impact. The call will close on September 3.
Two other major calls are also open to support excellent doctoral programmes and international collaborative research projects:
- The MSCA Doctoral Networks implement programmes to recruit and train doctoral candidates in academia and other sectors, including industry, businesses, and public administrations. The scheme includes the development of joint degrees, including a possible European degree. The call, with a budget of €608.6 million, will close on November 27.
- The MSCA Staff Exchanges develop international, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary exchanges and knowledge sharing at all stages of the innovation chain. The call, with a budget of €99.47 million, will open on September 19 and close on February 5, 2025.
The calls follow the adoption of the revised 2023-2025 Horizon Europe Work Programme last week.
These actions promote the adoption of the principles of the Charter for Researchers and also contribute significantly to the reform of research assessment systems, promoting a broad definition of excellence and diverse career paths, in line with the European Commission’s commitment to the process initiated by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA).
