Funding institution:

European Commission

Competition deadline:

February 9, 2023 by 5:00 pm (CWN deadline: February 2, 2023).

Subject of the competition:

European Commission has opened its call for proposals under the Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) under the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions (the MSCA), for co-financing Horizon Europe (HE) doctoral programmes (Doctoral Programmes).

Call essentials:

• The European Commission co-finances new or existing research and teaching programmes aimed at educating researchers before earning doctorate in all research domains
• Proposals are being submitted by one organisation regardless of the sector (e.g.  a ministry, agency, university, company, association) of a EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated state, which would implement the project in collaboration with other national and/or international institutions, approaching researchers with an attractive programme.  Such an organisation, in its capacity of a beneficiary and a project coordinator, signs a funding agreement with the European Commission.
• Doctoral Programmes should open access to international and intersectoral mobility. Taken into account in evaluation of proposals is the participation in the project of enterprises and other organisations in the non-academic sector, giving researchers the opportunity to learn about the sector and to develop competencies and knowledge to work in non-academic institutions of this kind.
• At least 3 researchers must be employed in each project.
• A project may deal with any domain of research and may be implemented for up to 60 months.
• The hosting of researchers from freely chosen country and of every nationality takes place under open and transparent calls held by the beneficiary of the project, with obligatory publication of the offer in the EURAXESS portal.
• Beneficiaries of the MSCA must comply with the rule of mobility, which stipulates that they may not implement their project in a country in which they spent more than 12 months in the last three years at the time of the call’s closure.
• In project evaluation and implementation subject to scrutiny will be offered work conditions, recruitment transparency and career advancement opportunities based on the provisions of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
• Doctoral students admitted under Doctoral Programmes may not be holders of doctorate on the day of concluding the call.
• Doctoral students hosted under the MSCA COFUND by a Polish science and higher education entity should be employed under the temporary employment contract with full health and social insurance – it is possible pursuant to Article 209.10(1) and Article 119.2(3a) of the Act – Law on higher education and science, and inducted in the doctoral student training programme under a doctoral school arrangement.  Emerging researchers employed under the MSCA COFUND and admitted to a doctoral school must receive both remuneration pursuant to a contract of employment, financed with the project’s funds, and doctoral scholarship, as per provisions of the above mentioned act.
• The proposal must be supported with letters of intent by partner institutions.

Basic terms of funding projects:

• The budgets of the MSCA projects are generated automatically on the basis of the number of man-months for which researchers are hosted, and the budget should provide funds for personnel costs (remuneration) for the hosted researchers, research, training, travel, management and indirect costs. The EC shall subsidise the personnel costs of the hosted researchers, at a rate of € 2,800 per person-month.
• It is still possible for those who have received funding from the EC and signed funding agreements to apply to the Ministry of Education and Science for a 90-per-cent co-funding of eligible costs incurred by the applicant while implementing the project using national funds (so-called own contribution specified in the grant agreement) – pursuant to the Communication by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 28 June 2019, on establishing the programme: “International co-financed projects” and call for proposals, as amended.

Form of submitting proposals:​

• Proposals may be submitted only electronically to the EC via the Funding & Tender Portal 
• On the call's website in the portal available are all documents necessary for preparing a project: Work Programme, Guide for Applicants, Project proposal.
• Applicants in the call are required to name in the Funding & Tender Portal the call assistant at the RSC as the contact for JU.

Internal regulations:​

Pursuant to the Ordinance no 129 of JU Rector of 10 November 2022 on: The procedure for drawing up and implementing projects funded from external sources at Jagiellonian University persons from JU entities interested in entering the call (not applicable to JUMC entities) are asked to deliver to the RSC:

• • by 26 January 2023:
  • the Research Project Entry Form and the VAT Eligibility Form filled out in the electronic system JU Project Zone
  • a proposal draft (electronic version sent as a PDF file to the address of the call assistant at the RSC);
• • by 2 February 2023 – a final version of the proposal (electronic version, sent in as a PDF file to the address of the call assistant at the RSC, signed with a qualified electronic signature or a hard copy signed with handwritten signatures) – signatures required: the author/principal investigator in the project, the Director of the Doctoral School, the Head of the JU organisational entity (i.e. Dean or Director/Head of other organisational entity) acting as the project’s host institution.

Out of concern for the quality of the submitted projects, especially in terms of meeting formal requirements, you are encouraged you to deliver the documents to the RSC well ahead of the above mentioned deadlines.

Additional information:

Communication from the UJ Vice-Rector dated 17/12/2022 regarding the competition

Terms and conditions of the competition on the website of the European Commission

Terms and conditions of the competition on the website of the National Contact Point