MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: Q&A and testimonials

Note: You can view the event recording embedded below as well as access the speaker presentations and Q&A's in the Attachments section at the bottom of this page.

Curious about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the European Union’s reference program for doctoral education and postdoctoral training? Designed in collaboration with the University of Calgary's Postdoctoral Office  and open to the public, EURAXESS North America will convene speakers to share testimonials and answer your questions on the Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF), a mobility scheme that targets researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills, and develop their careers. PFs help researchers gain experience in other countries, disciplines, and non-academic sectors. Whether you are a researcher interested in a postdoc (in Europe or anywhere in the world), someone considering a PhD in Europe, a faculty member who wants to recruit postdocs (paid by the EU), or an administrator who wants to understand the ins and outs of this program for your researchers, take advantage of this opportunity to connect with experts.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 16th, 2025 at 10:00 AM MT (12:00 noon ET / 9:00 AM PT / 6:00 PM CEST, convert to your local time zone here). The event will be held on Zoom in English and will last approximately an hour and a half. Attendance is free but registration is required.

Register now

Learn from the Dutch National Contact Points (NCPs) for MSCA, who will answer your questions during a live Q&A following testimonials from a current MSCA-PF Global Fellow and their supervisor at UCalgary. Submit your questions during registration and ask during the event.

The current call for the Postdoctoral Fellowships opened on May 8th and will close on September 10th, 2025. Put the finishing touches on your 2025 application with lessons learned at this session, or start early and begin the prep work for next year's cycle.

Note that we will not provide an in-depth presentation on the scheme at this session but rather focus on answering your inquiries. If you are not familiar with MSCA-PF, please watch the recording embedded below or here on our YouTube channel and access the presentations.

Dr. Katrina Milaney

Dr. Katrina Milaney is the Associate Vice-President (Research) and Director of the Postdoctoral Program at the University of Calgary. She is also a Professor in Community Rehabilitation & Disability Studies and a Research Fellow at the School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on health equity and social vulnerability, with particular attention to homelessness, disability, gender, and mental health.

Dr. Aurelia Strauss

Dr. Aurelia Strauss is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Calgary and the University of Exeter. After completing her PhD in 2024 at the University of Groningen, she was awarded a Global MSCA Fellowship with outgoing phase in Canada and return phase in the UK. As a behavioural ecologist, she studies the causes and consequences of behavioural variation in animals. Her MSCA project investigates the interactions between gut microbiome, behaviour, and stress in a feral horse population.

Prof. Alastair Wilson

Alastair Wilson is a Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Exeter (UK). His research addresses broad questions about how, when and why traits evolve under selection - both natural and artificial. He uses ecological, behavioural, and genetic approaches and studies a wide range of animals in the wild and in captivity. He currently hosts a Global Postdoctoral Fellow and has previously hosted several European Postdoctoral Fellowships in his group.

Dr. Jocelyn Poissant

Dr. Jocelyn Poissant is an Associate Professor of Wildlife Health and Ecology at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Canada. His research focuses on understanding the drivers and consequences of fitness-related variation in free-living wildlife populations. He held a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship at the University of Sheffield (UK) from 2012 to 2014, and he currently hosts a Global Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary in collaboration with the University of Exeter (UK).

Mariëlle Brouwer

Mariëlle Brouwer works at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency as the National Contact point for the Marie-Skłodowska Curie Actions and the European Research Council. Before starting as a NCP for the Netherlands in 2019, she worked on EU research policy in Brussels. Her academic background is in European Studies and linguistics.