Call for Marie Curie EU Fellowships now open
Each year a window of opportunity opens for the University to engage the very best, and most promising, individual researchers from anywhere in the world to undertake funded research here in Southampton.
The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Individual European or Global Fellowships are for researchers of any nationality, working in any area, who already have a doctorate or equivalent experience.
This is a highly coveted and competitive scheme attracting only exceptional researchers through our doors. The success rate for Life Sciences last year was just 18.50% for European and 11.60% for Global Fellowships. The success rate for Physics was 18.80% and 11.20% respectively.
Experience has proved that Marie Curie Fellows bring outstanding research skills and income, along with building and consolidating effective links with international partners, so any promising candidate interested in carrying out research with us should be encouraged to apply.
There are currently around 20 MCSA Fellows working at the University across different faculties and academic units.
The fellowships also help these researchers advance their careers and gain new skills through progressive training, international mobility and optional interdisciplinary secondments. Researchers also benefit hugely from our research environment and the prestige and reputation from working in a world-leading research-led University.
Dr Maria Luisa Moro, a current Intra-European Postdoc Marie Curie Fellow working with Dr Delphine Boche in the Faculty of Medicine and Dr Amritpal Mudher in the Centre for Biological Sciences, said: “My experience here has been incredibly positive and I have received fantastic support from my supervisors and the University’s research network. This is one of the few fellowships that gives you the opportunity to train as you work too.
“I believe this is one of the best funding streams for early career researchers. Although the application process may seem daunting and prolonged, it is definitely worth the effort.
Individual Fellowships can provide the opportunity to acquire and transfer new knowledge and to work on research in a European context or outside Europe. The scheme also supports the return and reintegration of researchers from outside Europe and helps restart the careers of individuals showing great potential.
Dr Eugen Stulz ,Associate Professor in Bio-organic and Materials Chemistry, supported a MCRA application for Dr Iwona Mames, an ambitious early career researcher from Poland. Eugen comments: “The Marie Curie fellowship couldn’t have achieved a better outcome. It has guaranteed a top researcher in post and I can rely on having someone in the lab who is dedicated to the project and who knows what to do.
This was the first Marie Curie fellowship application I have supported and, although we both had to put in a lot of work, I have not been disappointed and we have excellent results to show.
The fellowship has also helped supervise undergraduate students and provided research money for the lab, which is vital to keep it running.”
Research fields are chosen freely by the applicants and all domains of research and technological development are eligible for funding.
There are two main types of the MSCA Fellowships:
- European Fellowships are held in EU Member States and open to researchers either coming to Europe or moving within Europe. These last one to two years. Researchers can hold a European Fellowship in any EU Member State or Associated Country.
- Global Fellowships are based on secondment to a non-European country and a compulsory 12 month return phase in a European host organisation. These last two to three years. The Outgoing Phase of a Global Fellowship can be based almost anywhere in the world providing applicants have not been living or working in the host country for more than 12 months in the three years prior to the submission deadline.
The call for proposals is open up to 10 September 2015.Individual fellowships are selected through an open competition and transparent, independent evaluation, using a series of pre-determined criteria.
If you receive a request for support from a researcher with an outstanding CV and an interesting research idea you want to support, please get in touch as soon as possible with the EU office for guidance and assistance in the proposal preparation soton-eu-office@soton.ac.uk .
Call documentation can be found here.
An FAQ document is available here
The MSCA UK National Contact Point can be found here .