The Doctoral Networks (DN) support transnational doctoral programmes with different organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors. On the basis of a collaborative scientific project, DNs aim to improve the career opportunities for researchers through international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility, to strengthen the transfer of knowledge between the participating institutions and to increase the quality of doctoral programmes.

Networks applying must include at least three partners from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. At least one of the institutions of the network must be located in an EU Member State.

The Doctoral Networks are divided into three categories:

• Doctoral Networks – DN
• Joint Doctorates – JD
• Industrial Doctorates – ID

The Doctoral Networks are financed through lump sums, divided into institutional funding for research, training and network costs, management and indirect costs on the one hand and allowances for the researcher on the other hand.

The aim of the Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) is to equip postdoctoral researchers with complementary professional skills for their future careers through the implementation of a personalised research project. International, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility is the central element here. It is also a good opportunity to attract postdocs to the own research group.

The Postdoctoral Fellowships are divided into two different programmes:

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships.

The mobility rule applies to all beneficiaries: they may not have lived or worked in the host institution’s country for more than 12 months in the 36 months prior to the submission deadline.

Funding is provided for European Postdoctoral Fellowships with a duration of 12 to 24 months and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships with a duration of 24 to 36 months, consisting of a 12 to 24-month outgoing phase and a 12-month return phase.

Postdoctoral Fellowships are financed through lump sums, divided into institutional funding for research, training and network costs, management and indirect costs on the one hand and allowances for the researcher on the other hand.

The Staff Exchanges programme promotes intersectoral, international, and interdisciplinary collaborations through the mutual exchange of staff and knowledge. Projects can also build on preliminary work from already existing scientific networks but should be deepened and/or (further) established.

The collaborations are applied for on the basis of a joint research or innovation project by a consortium consisting of at least three partners from three different countries. At least two of these countries must be EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

The exchange of scientists at all career levels as well as administrative, technical and management staff is promoted, as long as they are actively engaged in research activities. The exchange programme will be rounded off by a range of joint networking activities and the organisation of workshops and conferences, with the aim of exchanging knowledge and developing new innovative approaches to specific research or innovation topics. The seconded staff should receive a comprehensive training program, which contributes to further qualification and thus promotes individual career development.

The project finances a lump sum to compensate the seconded staff for their expenses. Furthermore, there are institution unit costs for research, training and networking activities, conferences, coordination and management costs and a lump sum for indirect costs. Salary of the seconded staff is not financed by the programme but must be paid by the hosting institution for the duration of the programme.

The Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) programme supports existing as well as new regional, national, and international programmes that aim to strengthen the international, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary training, mobility and career development of doctoral and post-doctoral researchers.

Co-financing is provided for either doctoral programmes or post-doctoral programmes.

In principle, the MSCA mobility rule applies to all co-funded researchers: they must not have lived or worked in the country of the host institution for more than 12 months in the 36 months prior to recruitment or prior to the application deadline. In justified cases, ongoing programmes may deviate from this.

The funding involves co-financing of personnel costs and is issued in fixed lump sums per applicant person-month.

Proposal submission is facilitated via the Funding and Tenders Portal, through which templates and guiding documents are provided as well.

For MSCA, please always consider the #Guidelines on Supervision# as well as the #MSCA Green Charter#.

All calls are published annually, with deadlines usually in September (PF) and November (DN).

We can provide you with general information about the MSC programs and help to answer specific questions, e.g. about the composition of your consortium or the mobility rule.

If you are coordinating a proposal or applying for a Postdoctoral Fellowship, we offer proofreading of your application or parts of the text. Usually, we can refer to specific services such as proofreading carried out by our colleagues at the NKS MSCA or KoWi.

For relevant support structures and cross-cutting issues at TU Darmstadt we can give you input or name the appropriate contact persons.

We are also happy to provide input for the required description of the institution and, if necessary, support in the preparation of a pre-agreement letter (for Doctoral Networks – Joint Doctorates), which must be signed by the Vice President for Administration and Financial Affairs of TU Darmstadt.

If you are coordinating the application, we offer to assist with initial steps in the Funding and Tenders Portal, if necessary. To provide a better service, we generally encourage you to include euforyou@tu-… as a Participant Contact on the proposal in the Funding and Tenders Portal. The needed PIC number of TU Darmstadt is 999986581.

If you are interested in MSC actions or are planning to apply, please contact us at an early stage. We are happy to assist you!

Applications will be assessed by experts in one of eight scientific panels with a maximum of 5 points by experts in each of the three criteria “Excellence”, “Impact” and “Quality and efficiency of the implementation”. “Excellence” accounts for 50% of the overall rating, “Impact” for 30% and “Quality and efficiency of the implementation” for 20%. Each of the eight panels will create a separate ranking list. To be eligible for funding, an application must reach an overall threshold of at least 70%.

The scientific panels are:

• Chemistry (CHE)
• Economic Sciences (ECO)
• Information Science and Engineering (ENG)
• Life Sciences (LIF)
• Mathematics (MAT)
• Physics (PHY)
• Social Sciences (SOC)

A time frame of eight to twelve months can be expected from the end of the submission period to the start of the project.

Resubmissions are possible, but for DN and PF a quality threshold of 80%, or 70% respectively must have been reached in the previous year's application in order to resubmit.

The European Commission is always looking for new experts. If you are interested in working as an expert, you can find more information here.

In case your proposal is granted, we will support you in preparing the Grant Agreement. The contract is concluded via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The proposal becomes an annex to the Grant Agreement and serves as a reference for the progress of the project.