European higher education and research stakeholders call for support to Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

In a new joint statement, the European University Association (EUA) joins fellow stakeholders in calling for recognition of MSCA’s important role, alongside an increased budget to unlock its full potential. In short: ‘We need much more MSCA!’

MSCA funds high-quality, bottom-up research, enhances the career development of researchers at all stages, and supports the creation of interdisciplinary and intersectoral, global research collaborations. As such, the programme is much valued among research performing organisations, not least because it is key in supporting the next generation of researchers and creating attractive career perspectives, two priorities in the mission letter for the Commissioner-designate for Startups, Research, and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva. However, there is a mismatch between political priorities (and the programme’s proven achievements) and the insufficient means to deliver on these.

EUA’s vision for FP10 ‘Paving the way for impactful European R&I’ pinpoints MSCA as a vital instrument for universities. It allows future researchers to build strong international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary networks and provide unparalleled opportunities for professional development and cross-border cooperation, promoting the exchange of ideas and best practices, and contributing to Europe’s competitiveness on the world stage.

Alongside EUA, the joint statement is endorsed by Aurora, CESAER, the Coimbra Group, the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO), EuroTech Universities, EU-LIFE, the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), the League of European Research Universities (LERU), the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), Science Europe and the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN).