Today, the Commission announced the results of the call for proposals of the 2023 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Doctoral Networks. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions will fund 128 excellence programs that will train and develop the skills of 1,900 PhD candidates, strengthen their innovation skills and boost their employability by providing a total of €443 million from the research and innovation program EU “Horizon Europe”.

The Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Ms Iliana Ivanova said: “Thanks to the projects selected this year, 1,900 talented PhD candidates will have the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge within academia, but also to gain experience in other sectors, both inside and outside Europe. These projects will respond to emerging challenges in various research areas, enabling researchers to develop transferable skills and competences that boost European innovation and competitiveness.”

Of the selected projects, 113 are standardized PhD programs to develop the skills of PhDs, 8 are industrial PhD programs to enrich the skills of researchers outside academia, and 7 are joint PhD programs offering comprehensive training for joint or multiple PhDs . These programs promote research in areas such as the use of artificial intelligence to treat Parkinson’s disease, energy-neutral wastewater treatment and the use of rehabilitation robots in clinical practice.

Doctoral programs are implemented by international consortia of universities, research institutes, businesses and other non-academic organizations.

The 2023 results include 1,413 participating organizations from 51 countries inside and outside the EU, of which 551 are private for-profit entities. Since 2014, MSCA actions have funded more than 1,475 PhD programs.

Nikos Andritsos