MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at Sorbonne University - Call for expression of interest 2023

Sorbonne University, the 1st French university for Horizon 2020 funding, welcomes applicants for Marie S. Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships at one of our 137 research units.

Sorbonne University is a truly research-intensive university with three Faculties that pioneer vital work in Science & Engineering, Medicine, and the Humanities. Our research units host top researchers, including more than 100 ERC grantees, 70 MSCA fellows, and have participated in or coordinated more than 120 collaborative EU projects. Sorbonne University is located at the heart of Paris with additional marine campuses in Brittany and on the Mediterranean coast. It offers internationally recognised laboratories and technological infrastructures, the largest library in France, and a dynamic scientific and cultural programme that brings our community together.

The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of the premier initiatives of the European Commission’s Horizon Europe scheme. If you are a young researcher with high potential and ambition to advance research in fundamental or applied fields, you are invited to apply to this programme with our acclaimed researchers for an opportunity to work on and develop your ideas in an exceptional research environment. 

The following projects are currently open for potential candidates: see the list by clicking here.

 Should you wish to apply and submit a joint project with a supervisor, please send an email to msca-pf@sorbonne-universite.fr with your CV, motivation letter (including the project code, for example: CHEM1), and your expected contribution to the topic.

Following this, excellent candidates will be invited for a one-week meet-up and master class with the hosting supervisors on June 19-23 to prepare the MSCA application.

The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship programme aims at developing the potential of young researchers in Europe, by funding excellent research and promoting international mobility, as well as interdisciplinary and intersectoral exchanges. The proposal must be a joint application between a candidate and a supervisor from Sorbonne University, which presents an original research project. We welcome two types of fellowship applications within our university:

• European Fellowships : With Sorbonne University as the Host Institution, for a duration of 12 to  24 months. Secondments in partner research or industrial organisations are possible.
• Global Fellowships : With an outgoing phase of 12 to 24 months at a Host Institution outside of the EU or associated countries, and a return phase of 12 months at Sorbonne University.

Sorbonne University provides tailored support to assist candidate researchers at all stages of their application, from the identification of host research units to proposal writing and submission, with dedicated tools, coaching, and master classes. 

The fellows selected for funding, after external evaluation by independent experts appointed by the European Commission, will be employed by Sorbonne University or its partner research organisation CNRS/Inserm under a full social benefits contract for up to 24 months (or 36 months for Global Fellowships), including a mobility allowance for all fellows and a family allowance for eligible fellows. The funding will also cover additional research costs of up to €1000/month. The University has received the HRS4R award and provides a world-class research working environment in terms of Ethics & research integrity, recruitment, working conditions, and training.

Additional Info

Eligibility criteria

Eligible candidates must be in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the call deadline (Sept. 13, 2023) and must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of doctoral degree awarding. The candidates must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately preceding the call deadline. The programme is open to candidates from any nationality. 

Only one proposal per candidate is eligible. Candidates who have applied to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2022 call and received an evaluation below 70% are not eligible for an application in 2023. 

Selection process

The candidates for each of the proposed project topics in this call for expression of interest will be evaluated by a Sorbonne University committee. The best-suited candidates will be invited for a one-week training at Sorbonne University that includes a MSCA PF master class and exchanges with the hosting laboratory and supervisors. 

The candidates and their supervisors will then be responsible for writing a joint proposal on their project topic, which will be submitted to the Horizon Europe MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call and evaluated by experts appointed by the European Commission on the basis of Excellence, Impact, and Quality & Efficiency of the Implementation by one of 8 selection panels : Chemistry (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences (ECO), Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV), Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY). Each panel will establish two ranked lists, one for European and one for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships.

If selected, the proposal will be funded by the European Commission through Sorbonne University or its associated research organisms CNRS and Inserm, which will employ the researcher and provide the allocated research funds, as well as follow the implementation of the project.