Demonstrating independence is a critical step when you pursue a career in academia: not only being excellent at executing research, but also showing you can shape ideas into a coherent project, choose the right environment, and lead work that matters. EU funding can be a strong catalyst for that transition, especially in the postdoc phase, because it is designed to reward clear scientific vision plus a thoughtful plan for training, mobility, and impact.
One of the most widely used EU schemes for this purpose is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships
(marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu)
allowing you to move to a lab best suited to take the next step in your career and cover your salary and research costs.
Initial steps toward your own project
If you look out for funding bodies, all of them do support “great science,” but the most fundable projects usually share a few traits:
- A sharp question (specific, answerable, and significant)
- Novelty with credibility (what’s new, and why it can work)
- Timeliness (why now, and why your approach is well-positioned)
- A realistic plan (methods, risks, alternatives, and milestones)
Start early by discussing rough ideas with your supervisors, collaborators, and senior peers in your network. By doing this you will learn how experienced researchers pressure-test a concept: What is the real gap? What would reviewers doubt first? What would make the outcome valuable even if results are negative?
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: why they are such a good independence milestone
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships fund postdoctoral researchers to carry out an individual project with a host organisation, typically in a different country, while gaining skills and expanding networks. The application is developed jointly with the host, and the host organisation submits the proposal. Two versions of this fellowship exist:
- European Postdoctoral Fellowships (12–24 months)
- Global Postdoctoral Fellowships (24–36 months, with an outgoing phase to a “third country” plus a mandatory 12-month return phase to Europe)
Eligibility details matter and can be technical (PhD timing, years of experience, mobility rule, etc.). For example, a core rule is that you generally must not have lived or carried out your main activity in the host country for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the call. Because these rules and templates can change by call, one should inform yourself using the up-to-date Guide for Applicants, templates, and forms from the call webpage (see above).
Choosing the right host: “What can I bring?” and “What must I learn?”
Once you have a project idea, the next step is identifying a research group that makes the proposal obviously stronger than if you stayed where you are.
A strong host choice is easy to justify in two directions:
What you bring
- a method, dataset, model system, or conceptual approach the host doesn’t have but benefits from
- a track record that makes the project credible
- a network or interdisciplinary angle that expands the host’s reach
What you will gain
- a technique or infrastructure essential for your aims
- training you genuinely still need (and can name precisely)
- mentorship that supports your career direction (academia, industry, policy, etc.)
Timeline: start earlier than you think you need to
The call deadline is typically in September. For example, the 2026 call is listed as launching 9 April 2026 with a 9 September 2026 deadline.
A practical planning approach for your proposal could be:
- 6–9+ months before deadline: shortlist hosts, refine the project question, confirm eligibility
- 4–6 months: draft the core narrative + training plan, map impacts, build work plan
- 2–3 months: feedback cycles, tightening, and “reviewer-proofing”
- Final weeks: formatting, compliance checks, and submission
Get support early: you are not supposed to do this alone
Two support channels are consistently worth using:
Research support / project offices at your host institution
Get in contact with these teams as soon as you have agreed to write a proposal with the PI of the host institution. They will help you with eligibility checks, budgeting logic, administrative constraints, and common “hidden” pitfalls.
National Contact Points (NCPs)
Another helpful resource are NCPs
(horizoneuropencpportal.eu),
which provide practical guidance on participation in Horizon Europe and are designed to help applicants navigate the process.
Also the Marie Curie Alumni Association can help you to get advice and feedback from former fellows and organizes regular training sessions for applicants.
Key takeaway: use experts for the bureaucracy and structure so you can spend your limited time on what only you can do: make your proposal compelling.
Written by Christoph Keuschnig, edited by Elsa Abs
