EU-funded fellowships & career development for ALL researchers

Inspireurope webinar on applying for EU-funded research funding (January 21, 2020)
Information session for researchers at risk on Career Fit Plus; a MSCA COFUND (September 21, 2020)
Inspireurope webinar on EU Fellowships and Inclusion of Researchers at Risk (June 29, 2022)

Overview of EU funded fellowships and other support services for all researchers

The Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowships
Researchers have the choice to apply for a European Fellowship if they are moving within the EU or associated countries, or if they are interested in moving to the EU or an associated country from any other country in the world. Within this strand, two panels are particularly attractive for scientists who want to resume their research career (Career Restart Panel) or who have worked outside Europe for an extended period and would like to return (Reintegration Panel).

Researchers based in the EU or associated countries can apply for a Global Fellowship to do part of their research outside Europe (one to two years) and then return for one year to an EU or associated countries-based organisation. Applications submitted under the regular MSCA IF call that fail to reach an adequate place in the ranking to be funded and where the host organisation is located in an eligible ‘Widening country’ will be reassigned to the Widening Fellowships call upon the agreement of the applicant.
A fact sheet on MSCA support for researchers at risk is available here.

European Research Council (ERC)
Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply for ERC grants provided the research they undertake will be carried out in an EU Member State or Associated Country.
Research projects funded by the ERC can last up to five years and can cover frontier research in any scientific domain, including social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary studies. The grants may help both emerging research leaders (‘ERC Starting Grants‘ and ‘ERC Consolidator Grants‘) and already well-established and recognised scientists (‘ERC Advanced Grants‘).

EURAXESS- Researchers in Motion
Researchers in Motion is a unique pan-European initiative delivering information and support services to professional researchers. Backed by the European Union, member states and associated countries, it supports researcher mobility and career development, while enhancing scientific collaboration between Europe and the world.

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
COST provides international research funding for researchers and innovators to set up interdisciplinary research networks in Europe and beyond, including all fields of science and technology. Researchers can propose their own action or participate in an existing action.

Erasmus+
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It provides funding to individuals, such as students staff, trainees, young people and youth workers, as well as organisations.

EURAXESS- Intercultural Assistant
The EURAXESS Intercultural Assistant for Researchers aims at raising awareness of the complexity of the intercultural encounters researchers on the move are likely to experience.

FAQs on EU funded research fellowships

Question 1: Is there a separate Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship scheme (MSCAIF) especially for researchers who have experienced risk and displacement?
No, there is no dedicated, specific MSCA-IF scheme for those who have experienced risk and/or displacement. However, the existing MSCA scheme “particularly supports the return and (re)integration of European researchers from outside Europe and those who have previously worked here, as well as researchers displaced by conflict outside the EU and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries.” Further details can be found here.

Question 2: I am currently an at-risk scholar with a national programme (i.e. PAUSE programme in France, Philip Schwarz Initiative in Germany). Does this period in France/Germany count when considering the standard mobility rule?
Yes, this time does count when applying the standard mobility rule, unless in addition to being a PAUSE or PSI fellow you have also spent some or all of that time in the process for obtaining refugee status.

Question 3: Is a scholar with refugee status, granted by any EU country, eligible to apply for an EU-funded research fellowship, such as MSCA-IF, to be held outside his/her country of asylum for two or more years?
A person with refugee status in one EU country may apply for a mobility grant in another EU country, but moving to another EU country for two or three years may have consequences for your residency rights in the country of asylum. The relevant EU directive addressing the intra-EU mobility of researchers is: “Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing”, available here. However, there are differences in how EU member states transpose the directive into national legislation. It is therefore advisable to make enquiries with the relevant immigration authorities in your country of asylum as to how your residency rights would be affected if you move to another EU country. Please find a useful FAQ here developed by the Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation regarding the residence status of threatened researchers in Germany. Inspireurope is looking more closely at this issue and is encouraging other national programmes to develop similar FAQs. The project has also presented a webinar on mobility rights, rules and regulations within Europe for researchers at risk, including those on temporary work permits and those with refugee or protection status here.

Question 4: For someone to make an application for a MSCA-IF, is English language a requirement?
Proposals to Horizon 2020 may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union. However, if you submit your proposal in a language other than English, and in order to facilitate the evaluation of the proposal by the independent experts evaluators who may not all be fluent in the language of the proposal, it is recommended that an abstract of the proposal in English is included.

Question 5: How can I apply to be considered for the pilot coaching programme in the Inspireurope project?
The Inspireurope project includes a pilot coaching programme involving a very limited number of researcher-participants. If you would like to be considered for this programme, please email [email protected] for further details.

More information
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