Brussels – It appears that researchers from all over the world are keen to continue their careers in Europe. This is how the European Commission’s estimates are being interpreted in Brussels: the EU has received 21.627 applications for postdoctoral fellowships under the Marie Skodovskaya Curie (MSCA) actions. This is the EU’s flagship programme for doctoral and postdoctoral training, with an indicative budget of €399.05 million. This year’s number of applications is the highest recorded in recent cycles. According to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, this record figure indicates “that European societies and economies will benefit more than ever from knowledge, cutting-edge ideas, applications, and products”.
MSCA postdoctoral fellowships offer researchers who have already obtained a PhD—regardless of their nationality—the opportunity to undertake a research project in another country, to acquire new skills, and to develop international networks. They support research projects hosted by academic institutions, research centres, companies, and public bodies.
The European Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, emphasised: “In 2026 alone, the Commission announced new calls for proposals under the MSCA programme worth €1.25 billion to support training and research.” Today, “40 per cent of researchers supported by the MSCA programme come from non-EU countries, and most of them remain in Europe at the end of their fellowship,” she concluded.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
