On the Horizon: Marie Curie Actions

Tracing their origins to the EU’s researcher mobility fellowships under FP3, the Marie Curie Actions (MCA) were formed in 1996 and have now funded an estimated 60,000 researchers. During FP7 alone, the MCAs supported 10,000 PhDs.

The MCAs will receive funding worth an estimated €5.7bn under Horizon 2020 and will sit under the Excellent Science pillar of the research framework programme. The bottom-up doctoral training fellowships support the mobility, training and career development of researchers from 130 different nationalities, working across more than 80 countries. All research fields are eligible for funding across 11 different fellowship schemes.

Knowledge triangle

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, commonly known as CERN, has hosted fellows as part of the MCA since 2007. CERN has been involved in 35 MCA projects, receiving an estimated €44m in EU funding, benefiting 260 researchers. Responsible for the MCA at supranational level is Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, who covers the remit of education, culture, multilingualism and youth.

Speaking to scientists and MCA participants at the Large Hadron Collider, on Monday 15April, Vassiliou said the programme was as vital as ever in helping Europe develop its knowledge economy.

“Investing in research is not an option, nor an alternative: it is a necessity for Europe in order to build a strong knowledge economy. At a time when the EU is facing one of the most serious economic crises, I believe we must invest in our human capital, we must invest in our researchers, we must invest in you.

“In times of economic crisis, young people are the first victims of unemployment. The latest figures of youth unemployment are worrying. As Commissioner responsible for education, I am deeply concerned that young people are provided with good quality education and training leading to future employment opportunities,” Vassiliou commented.

“The Marie Curie Actions help to bring research, universities and businesses together in what we call the ‘knowledge triangle’. In September 2012, the Marie Curie Actions started to fund 20 European industrial doctorates, which will last for up to four years.

“The participants from research enterprises build, in collaboration with a university, a doctoral programme that will bring the researchers to the industrial sector for at least 50% of the duration of their PhD. CERN is hosting one European industrial doctorate project called ICE-DIP, in collaboration with Intel. This will focus on advanced information and communication technologies and I am looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration between such major international players,” the Commissioner added.

International scope

An important feature of the MCA is its impact outside of the EU, reflecting the global ambitions of Horizon 2020. Vassiliou outlined the fundamentals to a new directive designed to encourage the participation of more international researchers in the programme.

“In this room today, we have several fellows of Marie Curie from a wide range of nationalities,” the Commissioner observed. “This reflects both the international organisation that is CERN, and the spirit of Marie Curie Actions, which are based on international mobility of different kinds. The programme has indeed a worldwide reach, demonstrated by the fact that over 20% of our fellows have a non-European nationality.

“Our ambition is to make Europe an attractive place to study and do research so it can also attract more young people to take up scientific careers. Europe’s future ability to generate growth and jobs depends on our ability to become a world-class science performer.

“In this perspective, we have recently proposed a revision of the visa directive for students and researchers coming to the EU. The objective is to facilitate the immigration procedures for foreign researchers who want to come to the EU to receive training or to work. We want to make it easier for foreign researchers to bring their families, so that they are better able to focus on their research work. It is now in the hands of the member states to discuss and agree on this new directive,” Vassiliou said.

Looking forward

The Marie Curie Actions, to be renamed the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon 2020, will be strengthened under the next research framework programme, receiving additional funding, supporting more PhDs and introducing new forms of research training.

“The new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions will build on the achievements of the current programme and continue to support the human resources behind research and innovation. The actions will even further promote international and inter-sectoral mobility to the leading labs in Europe and around the world. Fellows will work under attractive conditions, following the principles laid down in the European Charter for Researchers and the code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers.

“The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are expected to become the main EU programme offering support for structured doctoral training, supporting around 25,000 PhDs. These will include industrial doctorates, joint doctorates and other innovative forms of research training, as well as strong incentives to acquire both specialist knowledge transferable competencies like entrepreneurship,” the Commissioner outlined.

“I could not resist referring to a woman I personally admire. Maria Skłodowska-Curie has shown us that scientific achievements can have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives as the CERN does. As she said, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.””

Androulla Vassiliou

European Commission