15 Apr 2024
EC awards MSCA Seal of Excellence certificates to 1,607 applicants
The European Commission has awarded Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) Seal of Excellence certificates to 1,737 applicants for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in 2023. These applicants submitted excellent proposals but did not receive funding from the scheme. The proposals that received the certificate had host organisations in 32 countries.
Postdoctoral Fellowships are highly competitive. The third call of the scheme under Horizon Europe received a total of 8,039 proposals, of which 1,249 received funding. The MSCA Seal of Excellence is a quality label awarded to applicants for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships who scored 85% or higher in the assessment. Beneficiaries can use this award to obtain alternative funding for their research. As of 2024, 16 European countries have such support schemes in place at different levels.
The MSCA Seal of Excellence also supports low research and innovation performing countries in the European Union and Associated Countries, usually referred to as “widening countries”. The Seal of Excellence allows research institutions and national authorities to implement a funding scheme in line with their own strategies. Through these schemes, the institutions and national authorities can attract leading talent from abroad, including diaspora researchers, and increase the visibility and attractiveness of their host institutions internationally.
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The next call for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships will open on 23 April 2024.