EU: funding for 1,200 European researchers. 100 million over 5 years. Projects on health, food, environment, “smart cities”

19 doctoral and 24 post-doctoral researcher training programmes of outstanding quality from 11 EU Member States and 3 associated countries will be supported with €100 million over five years under the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme. The programme was established to “ensure excellent and innovative research training and interesting career and knowledge exchange opportunities through cross-border cooperation and intersectoral mobility of researchers”. The countries with the most projects selected are Spain, France and Ireland; the projects selected will benefit “almost 1,200 excellent scientists carrying out their research in a wide range of disciplines, from health to computer science, advanced manufacturing, energy, rural development or prehistory”, a statement from Brussels reads. Commissioner for Research Mariya Gabriel congratulated the winners, saying: “Several of their programmes will focus on solutions to global challenges such as immunology, health crises or sustainability. Other programmes - she explained - will cover areas relevant to future priorities such as food, oceans or smart cities”. This was the last call under the Horizon 2020 programme (with the highest budget ever), but the MSCA will continue under Horizon Europe.
Valentina Bombelli