The ‘Excellent Science’ pillar has no specified priorities, all disciplines and all areas are funded. Within this Pillar there are four sections, each with its own Work Programme: European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA), Future Emerging Technologies (FET) and Research Infrastructures.
The H2020 Work Programme 2018-2020 was published on 27 October 2017. To read the press release regarding the publication click here and more details about the work programme can be found here.
Research Professional is a great way of identifying funding opportunties within Horizon 2020. For a full listing of opportunities related to Pillar 1 – Excellent Science click here to access a customised Research Professional search for all opportunities listed within the Excellent Science pillar.
The Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions fund the development of researchers and research mobility across the EU and beyond. Innovative Training Networks (ITN) are international and intersectoral networks of HEIs and partners for training new Early Career Researchers (ECR). International Fellowships (IF) are individual fellowships for postdoctoral researchers to travel to a host institution either within the EU or elsewhere. Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE) are intersectoral and/or international staff exchanges.
For more details on eligibility, applicant profiles, and the application process, see the Work Programme for MSCA available here.
See the Research Professional listing of MCSA opportunities.
Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowships
Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowships are an excellent opportunity for researchers of any age, nationality or discipline to obtain and transfer new knowledge and to work on research in a European context or outside Europe. Here at WIT we actively welcome expressions of interest from suitable candidates who would like to work with our researchers to apply to become a Marie Curie Fellow.
WIT was the first Institute of Technology in Ireland to receive the "HR Excellence in Research" designation, identifying us as a provider of a high standard working environment for researchers. Internally, the Research Support Unit has a dedicated EU Research Programmes officer to assist all researchers in identifying and applying for future funding opportunities.
Types of MSCA Fellowships
There are 2 types of fellowships:
• European Fellowships are held in EU Member States or Associated Countries and are open to researchers either coming to Europe or moving within Europe for a period of 12 to 24 months.
• Global Fellowships: This action enhances the international dimension of European researchers’ careers by financing research projects to be carried out in two different countries. This action is based on a secondment to a third country (from 12 to 24 months) and a mandatory 12 month return period to a European host institution.
Eligible Researchers
• The researcher must be an Experienced Researcher: s/he must, at the deadline for the submission of proposals, be in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience.
• The researcher may be of any nationality.
• The researcher must comply with the following mobility rule: the researcher must not have resided or carried out the main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for submission of proposals. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.
Note: In the Career Restart Panel (CAR) and Reintegration Panel (RI) the researcher must not have resided or carried out the main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host organisation for more than 3 years in the 5 years immediately prior to the deadline for submission of proposals
| MSCA National Contact Points | |
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Suzanne Miller-Delaney - MSCA Support for SFI Centres 01-6764948 |
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Grace McCarthy - MSCA Support for Industry and Civil Society Organisations 01-6764948 |
The European Research Council funds established scholars at all stages of their career for large-scale ‘frontier research’. All disciplines and subject areas are funded, including inter- or trans- disciplinary. A single researcher is funded, although they may form a research team as part of the project. The aim of the ERC is to fund ‘high-risk, high-gain’ research which will ensure scientific excellence in Europe across all domains.
For more details on eligibility, applicant profiles, and the application process, see the ERC Work Programme 2017.
See the Research Professional listing of ERC opportunities.
| ERC National Contact Points | |
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Graeme Horley - Science Foundation Ireland 01-6073118 |
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Maria O'Brien - Irish Research Council 01-2315000 |
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Peter Clifford - Science Foundation Ireland 01-6073266 |
Future and Emerging Technologies is a programme to support very new or nascent technologies, ‘in order to turn new knowledge and high-risk ideas into a viable basis for radically new technologies.’ In its aims, it is similar to the ERC, but supports collaborations rather than individual researchers. There are two FET programmes, FET Open, which has no disciplinary restrictions, and FET Proactive, in which themes or priorities are named, but ‘bottom up’ proposals are then encouraged. The FET Proactive themes are currently; ‘Boosting emerging technologies’ and 'High performance computing’.
The current Work Programme for FET is available here.
See the Research Professional listing of FET opportunities.
| FET National Contact Point | |
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Stephen O’Reilly - Enterprise Ireland 021-4800217 |
This programme supports the establishment of new infrastructures of European interest or the development of existing infrastructures. It is aimed at enabling all areas of research through the provision of infrastructures, or access to infrastructure. Within e-infrastructures, particular areas have been selected for individual calls, but there is also space for new infrastructures and funding is available for all stages of the establishment of these infrastructures, from design and conception, to implementation.
The current Work Programme for Research Infrastructures is available here.
See the Research Professional listing of Research Infrastructures opportunities.
| Research Infrastructures National Contact Point | |
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Michael Ryan - Science Foundation Ireland 01-6073200 |