About the MSCA IF grant

The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowships (IF) aim at supporting the international mobility of researchers within and beyond Europe as well as helping to attract the best foreign researchers to work in the EU. The grant usually covers two years' salary, a mobility allowance, research costs and overheads for the host institution.

IF is for experienced researchers of any nationality, i.e. researchers holding a doctoral degree or at least four years’ full-time research experience by the time of the call deadline; in any discipline (no age limit).

Individual researchers submit proposals for funding in liaison with their planned host organisation. Proposals are judged on their research quality, the researcher's future career prospects, and the support offered by the host organisation.

There is a yearly call for applications which opened on 12 April and will close on 12 September 2018.

Further materials about MSCA IF:

Grant details, Tips & tricks for application, Interviews of grantees on EURAXESS website

Official MSCA website

About the ERC grants

The European Research Council (ERC) is a funding organisation for frontier research. It aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by funding the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age, and supporting their innovative ideas. Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply for ERC grants provided the research they undertake will be carried out in an EU Member State or Associated Country. ERC grants are becoming more and more internationally recognised as awards for scientific excellence.

Research projects funded by the ERC can last up to five years and can cover frontier research in any scientific domain, including social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary studies. The grants may help both emerging research leaders ('ERC Starting Grants' and 'ERC Consolidator Grants') and already well-established and recognised scientists ('ERC Advanced Grants'). Find out more about the different ERC grants.

If you are moving to Europe from a third country, you can apply for additional funding, which can total up to €2 million for a Starting Grant (instead of €1.5 million for those already established in Europe), €2.75 million for a Consolidator Grant (instead of €2 million) and €3.5 million for an Advanced Grant (instead of €2.5 million).

There are three calls per year according to each category. In 2018, the call deadlines are: October (yet TBA, Starting Grants); 9 February (Consolidator Grants); 31 August (Advanced Grants).

Further materials on ERC grants:

Grants details, Possibilities from Japan, Tips & tricks for application, Interviews of grantees on EURAXESS website

Official ERC website

MSCA IF Trainer:
Cristina Gomez, NCP for MSCA, Spain

Cristina Gomez joined the International Projects Unit of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) in 2009 to coordinate EURAXESS at national level and also carry out the monitoring and support to other FP7 and international projects. In January 2014, she was appointed National Contact Point and Expert at the Programme Committee for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, becoming part of the European Office, whose objective is to encourage the participation of Spanish Institutions in Horizon 2020. She has over 9 years of experience in national and European research landscape, with a focus on career development and mobility of researchers. As an MSCA NCP since the beginning of Horizon 2020, Cristina participates very actively in the international NCP network and contributes to the promotion of the programme by delivering a large number of informative and hands-on training sessions in Spain, Europe and worldwide. Besides, she offers direct support to researchers and institutions, including personalized pre-screen service of MSCA proposals. As part of FECYT European Office communication Strategy, she has widely contributed to the promotion of Spanish institutions funding offers (MSCA and others). LinkeIn profile | Twitter account

ERC Trainer:
Stefanie Schelhowe, NCP for ERC, Germany

Stefanie Schelhowe leads the team of the German National Contact Point for the ERC in Bonn. With more than 10 years work experience with European research policies and funding, she is specialised in ERC proposals since 2009. Besides dealing with daily questions of applicants, she has trained researchers in several information and proposal writing events as well as in specialised ERC interview trainings. Core areas of expertise: - Over 10 years work experience with European research policies / funding - Since 2009 National Contact Point for the European Research Council (ERC), since 2013 head of team - From 2010 to 2013 National Contact Point for the Joint Research Centre (JRC) - Advising on proposal writing, evaluation process, grant management, interview preparation - Organisation of high-level events, information and proposal writing events, interview trainings - Detailed specific and generalist understanding of Horizon 2020 - Active as a trainer since 2009.

Alumni & facilitators:

Grantees and alumni from ERC and MSCA IF will participate in the event with short feedback on their experience, and as facilitators to the interactive sessions.

For MSCA IF:

Dr Dong-Jin Kim MSCA Cofund Fellow, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland CAROLINE Project (1 October 2017- 30 September 2020)
Dr Dowon Bae MSCA Cofund Fellow, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands LEaDing Fellows Project (1 March 2018 - 29 February 2020)

09:30 – 09:45 [Opening] the European Research Area: Opportunities for Fruitful Exchanges

Dr Michael Reiterer, EU Ambassador to Korea
Fabienne Gautier – European Commission, Head of Unit, DG RTD. B2, Open Science and ERA Policy

09:45 – 10:40 [Session1] Linking Europe and Korea
PART1. EU-Korea research cooperation: achievements and future perspectives

Science, technology and innovation cooperation form an important and rich part of the EU-Korea relationship as key to mutual economic growth. In this session, each panellist will present particular achievements in collaboration between Korea and Europe. Another special emphasis is given to schemes promoting the mobility and international exchange between researchers for the advancement of their scientific career.

10:40 – 11:40 [Session1] Linking Europe and Korea
PART2. EU-Korea Researchers Mobility Programmes – results, challenges and the way forward

This session aims to animate a discussion among researcher mobility experts from different institutions and with different experiences from European Commission, European Commission’s funding agency, National Contact Point for ERC, and MSCA Cofund fellows.

11:40 – 12:10 [Session2] INTRODUCING EURAXESS:
Improve your international careers and projects with us

In this session, EURAXESS as an initiative for international mobility and career development of researchers will be introduced to the Korean audience. It is a celebration of this new chapter in the country.

Opening Speech: Kitty Fehringer – European Commission

Presentations:
About global researcher mobility and EURAXESS Worldwide: Xiaomeng Shen, Germany Aerospace Center, EURAXESS Worldwide
About EURAXESS Korea: Matthieu Py and Tomasz Wierzbowski, EURAXESS Korea

12:10 – 12:15 Celebration of the official launch of EURAXESS Korea

12:15 – 13:30 Lunch Networking

13:30 – 14:30 [Session3] ERA Countries' Research Landscapes

This session is dedicated to highlighting the manifold European funding and research opportunities. Each panellist will present and highlight the national research infrastructure and funding schemes in another European area and will highlight opportunities for collaboration among researchers. Special emphasis will be given to innovation.

14:30 – 15:00 Coffee & Tea break

15:00 – 18:15 [Session4] European Funding Schemes for international researchers

18:30 – 18:40 Conference Closing

 18:40 – 20:40 Networking cocktail