Today, the Commission announced the results of the 2023 call for proposals under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) for the co-financing of regional, national and international programs (COFUND). Under Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme, EUR 96.2 million will be allocated to co-finance 12 doctoral training programs and 15 postdoctoral fellowship programmes, employing around 800 excellent researchers and female researchers. The selected projects cover various scientific disciplines, from improving and adapting the EU’s agri-food technology sector to the impact of climate change and promoting an ethical, human-centred and sustainable use of artificial intelligence.

The Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, said: “Europe needs to nurture top talent in order to maintain its competitive edge in research and innovation. Through the COFUND program of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, researchers have access to high-quality training, supervision and professional development opportunities. In addition, they have the opportunity to work in recognized academic and non-academic organizations across Europe and the world.”

Since 2014, MSCA actions have supported 300 projects under COFUND, including those funded under the last call.

The COFUND program helps organizations to create or strengthen their own training and scholarship programs to enhance their attractiveness and research and innovation capabilities. This in turn will help promote innovation exchanges and attract talent from around the world.

The Commission co-finances a significant part of the costs of these programmes, while the institutions are asked to complete the rest from their own funding sources.

The call for the 2024 program is open and the deadline for proposals is 26 September.

Nikos Andritsos