Marie Curie Fellowship 2020 – Eligibility, Application, Rewards

If you’re the person having a keen sense of research and looking for the right platform to acquire higher skills and climb the professional ladder at a greater pace, then Marie Curie fellowships should definitely be on your list. This fellowship also commonly known as the Sklodowska-Curie European fellowship, is primarily provided by the European Commission.

Candidates get a prospective opportunity to conduct research at a parent institution in the European Union. This is irrespective of the discipline they belong to, barring age groups and not limited to any particular nation. This offers one of the most flexible schemes that candidates willing to study abroad should apply for.

In this article, we engage in Marie Curie fellowship at greater detail. Some of the most prominent features of this fellowship including important dates and events of fellowship, eligibility criteria, the application process, documentation required, selection criteria and methodology, rewards and benefits offered, terms and conditions, results and FAQs are discussed here. Let us look deeper into each section.

Marie Curie Fellowship 2020 – Overview

Marie Curie Fellowship 2020 – Key Dates

Candidates interested in applying to Marie Curie fellowships have to note down the following dates and the important events associated with them. The Marie Curie fellowship is unique in its approach, offer and method of providing fellowships to deserving candidates. In this regard, kindly note the important dates:

Marie Curie Fellowship 2020 – Eligibility Criteria

The Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowships 2020 have a unique set of eligibility criteria that candidates need to cater to. It’s very crucial for candidates to abide and qualify for all conditions laid down by the fellowship authorities. Candidates who are found not qualifying the eligibility conditions could be disqualified at any stage of the fellowship selection process:

• Candidates have to be hard-core, practising and passionate research enthusiasts.
• Fellowship is open to candidates who have completed their doctoral studies.
• Post his graduation studies; candidate should have engaged himself in extensive research work, at least for four years from the time of completion of his degree.
• The last condition is applicable if the candidate has been living in a country where his host university is situated. Such candidates should not have performed any kind of research activity for greater than 12 months in a span of 3 years of his living in that region. The three year tenure is counted and taken into consideration just immediately before the application deadline dates.

Marie Curie Fellowship Application Process 2020 – How to Apply?

All applicants should read through and understand the following application protocols to understand better how the fellowship process unfolds at various stages. Here is a throw down to better identify the whole set of actions:

• Visit the official portal of Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowships and read the guidelines on applying to this fellowship. [official portal link]
• Shift your attention to the Participant Portal – Funding & Tenders. In this section, look for calls inviting proposals, and this would get you funding for your fellowship.
• Individuals, along with their host universities/ organizations, shall apply collaboratively to this fellowship.
• Proposals are peer reviewed and evaluated by REA of the European Union [EU]. REA stands for Research Executive Agency that engages in sorting out all proposals that seem good enough to be taken to the next level of selection.
• Experts from various fields of excellence conduct extensive review and hand over evaluation results.
• A list of proposals that have been selected along with the applicants shall be prepared. In the forthcoming phase, talks are established between the applicants and the REA experts. These talks shall conclude in formal agreements between the two parties.
• The next processes involve arranging grants through funds for all the selected parties.

Key Documents Required For Marie Curie Fellowship

Some of the essential documents required as per the Marie Curie fellowships are provided below. The list is indicative and not exhaustive. Candidates may require providing more documents as per the needs of evaluation by the fellowship committee. Some of the required documents to be kept ready are:

• Proposal containing research description for the project.
• Document explaining a summary of the proposal.
• CV of the applicant.
• Reference form
• Declaration form from the host supervisor.
• Mark sheets and certificates of graduation/post-graduation.
• Certificates/ documents explaining the research experience.
• Passport copy
• Proof of applicant ID
• Applicant declaration form

Marie Curie Fellowship – Selection Process

All candidates sending proposals for selection to Marie Curie fellowships shall be evaluated based on their research experience. Rich experience in their specific area of research shall call for a better chance of selection of candidates. Candidates must allot or rather fir their research area into scientific areas allotted by the fellowship committee. 

Based on the selection of the scientific area, candidates will be allotted a suitable ranking. Based on the ranking protocols, the final list of selected candidates shall be prepared. A final list of the table providing details of proposal peer review results along with funding aspects shall be prepared for selected candidates.

Marie Curie Fellowship – Rewards and Benefits

The Marie Curie fellowship offers the following benefits to selected fellows:

• Fellowship grant amount of 4880 Euros per month
• Mobility allowance of up to 600 Euros
• If the applicant is staying with his extended family, then an additional family allowance of 500 Euros shall be granted.
• Apart from the above grants offered to the individual applicant, the host institution shall also be served with funds to cover equipment/ research/ laboratory charges.

Marie Curie Fellowship – Terms and Conditions

All applicants shall heed to the following terms and conditions as laid down in the official serving documents:

• This fellowship is highly ideal for researchers with rich expertise and experience in their working areas.
• This fellowship is open to candidates from all parts of the world.
• Minimum qualification is a doctoral degree with high experience in research.
• Minimum tenure of research after acquiring a doctoral degree shall be four years.
• Research should be conducted full time in a university.
• Disciplines for research are not limited. They include diverse areas – physics, health sciences, linguistics etc.
• Allowance includes the study and stays charges. Some of the benefits offered are – living expenses, travel costs, family maintenance charges.
• Apart from the basic costs, additional perks are provided to the fellow in terms of research and training costs, management and networking cost too. This grant is provided to the host institution alone.
• Research proposals shall be submitted in the specified format only.
• All research proposals shall be accompanied by a CV of the applicant.
• The research proposal shall not contain the ideas projected by the applicant alone. IT should be a joint document prepared collaboratively with the host institution.

Marie Curie Fellowship Results

Every year around the mid of February, the EU shall display the results of the Marie curie fellowship on its website portal. More than 1400 candidates can expect selection through results. Funding shall be allotted to the selected fellows. Every year the number of grants is expected to grow compared to the previous year.

All proposals that have been selected shall receive a formal invitation from the EU. Selected fellows shall meet the fellowship committee and obtain a grant agreement from them. This formally announces the grant of fellowship to the candidate. Grant agreements should be officially signed by the fellow before the stipulated deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the deadline for submitting applications to Marie Curie fellowship?

September 9th 2020 is the last date to submit applications to Marie Curie fellowship.

• For what duration is the fellowship carried out?

The fellowship duration is not fixed. It may vary between 12 to 24 months.

• What are some of the benefits offered for selected fellows of Marie Curie fellowship?

The fellowship offers many lucrative non-monetary benefits. Financial grant of 4880 Euros is provided on a monthly basis.

• What is the last date to sign the grant agreement by the candidate?

All selected fellows should sign the grant agreement by the month of May 2020 and not later than that.

• What are some of the scientific areas where a candidate can conduct his research work?

Candidates can conduct their research work in areas like chemistry, information science and engineering, social sciences, economic sciences, environmental sciences, life sciences, mathematics and physics.

Contact Details

Contact US is the address of the Marie curie fellowship portal that candidates can use to contact the concerned officials for queries and other fellowship related doubts.