Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions contribute to developing new knowledge and enhancing the skills of people behind research and innovation. In 2014 the Marie Curie Actions were re-named the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). This change better reflects the Polish roots of this extraordinary scientist who inspires the programme.
Awarding €6.16 billion in the period to 2020, the MSCA support research training and career development focused on innovation skills. The programme funds worldwide and cross-sector mobility that implements excellent research in any field (a "bottom-up" approach).
Spanning a researcher's career
There are MSCA grants for all stages of a researcher's career, from PhD candidates to highly experienced researchers, which encourage transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility. The MSCA has become the main EU programme for doctoral training and in March 2017 the European Commission celebrated the milestone of supporting over 100,000 MSC Researchers.
Along with fostering mobility between countries, the MSCA also seek to break the real and perceived barriers between academic and other sectors. Most MSCA initiatives promote the involvement of industry in doctoral and post-doctoral research, via full employment or secondments.
There are four main types of MSCA:
- Research networks (ITN): ITN, including the popular European Training Network projects, aim to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit.
- Individual fellowships (IF): The goal of the Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
- Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE): The RISE scheme will promote international and inter-sector collaboration through research and innovation staff exchanges, and sharing of knowledge and ideas from research to market (and vice-versa).
- Cofunding of Regional, National or International Programmes (COFUND): The COFUND scheme aims to stimulate regional, national or international programmes to foster excellence in researchers' training, mobility and career development, spreading the best practices of Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.
The MSCA also funds the European Researchers' Night (NIGHT), public events involving researchers which take place every year across Europe on the last Friday of September.
Further useful and practical information about Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowships, including testimonials from an MSC grant holder, can be found in a series of podcasts on the Careers Service website
Applying for or Managing an MSC Grant
Our website has further information on how to apply for or manage a Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant. External applicants should contact the Department they wish to apply to in the first instance.
