The summer months are often considered the cucumber season both in politics and in academia. However, there are several young researchers who use these months to work like crazy on proposals for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship call. To give some inspiration to these young academic adventurers, I asked some current and recently awarded MSCA Fellows to share their experien ...[Read More]
Mare needs to secure some funding. Trotting through previous successful applications, she finds a common denominator. As a purebred scientist, she bellows: How important is interdisciplinary research for a research proposal? Dear Mare, Very important. Realistically, you’ll not get funded in case you’re a one-trick pony. Who will hand over their pouch of gold nuggets to someone who will ...[Read More]
Winning a prestigious fellowship is the dream of any early career scientist. It provides the freedom to waste a couple years of public funding without having to answer for that to a supervisor. The first step to reaching this academic Nirvana is to write a proposal. Blerta dares to ask what’s on everyone’s mind: What is a great idea for a proposal? Dear Blerta, I would love to tell you that the pr ...[Read More]
Interdisciplinary research are the buzzwords all funding agencies want to hear these days. After reading my blog on how to write an interdisciplinary proposal researching the interior of planets, Ruby decided to approach a geochemistry group to collaborate. They have kindly invited her to present her latest research at their group meeting, which left Ruby coming to ME for help: How should I prepar ...[Read More]
In the landscape of very competitive scientific funding, and with STEM research teams sometimes having more people with the name ‘Ben’ than women, Pierre asks what no one dares to even think: Can I increase the chances for my proposal getting funded if I co-write it with a woman? Dear Pierre, The funding game is one of low-odds and it seems you are looking for a loophole. No judgement ...[Read More]
Lockdown rumination resulted in new research ideas for Amélie. Her quests at the intersection of multiple subfields left her wondering: How to write an interdisciplinary proposal? Dear Amélie, I salute your efforts at bringing together multiple disciplines to tackle some of humanity’s most urgent questions regarding planetary interiors. I am myself an interdisciplinary scientist and a polyma ...[Read More]