The adoption of the Horizon Europe work programmes is facing some delays due to still ongoing negotiations. The call application deadlines are thus postponed for some work programmes. This postponing of the deadline affects the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, in particular for two specific actions: the MSCA Doctoral Networks and the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.
MSCA Doctoral Networks
The MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN, formerly known as ITN) aim to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient doctoral candidates, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit. MSCA Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes through partnerships of universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses – including SMEs – and other socio-economic players from different countries across Europe and beyond. MSCA Doctoral Networks are indeed open to the participation of organisations from third countries, in view of fostering strategic international partnerships for the training and exchange of researchers.
The Commission is allocating a budget of €400 million to the action this year.
The opening date for the calls of the programme is foreseen to be 22 June 2021 and the deadline for submitting grant applications is tentatively extended until 16 November 2021.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
The goal of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF, formerly known as Individual Fellowships or IF) is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and wishing to diversify their individual competences and skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility while implementing excellent research projects across all sectors of research. The objective is to enhance the quality of research and innovation (R&I) contributing to Europe’s competitiveness and growth, to facilitate knowledge transfer and brain circulation across the ERA and to foster the culture of open science, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The action is open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12 and 24 months.
For this action the Commission allocating a budget of €240 million this year. The opening date for the calls of the programme is foreseen to be 22 June 2021 and the deadline for submitting grant applications is tentatively extended until 12 October 2021.