Disclaimer: This blog was written in the context of Europe’s earlier framework programme Horizon 2020. Parts of it (e.g. the different forms of European Fellowships) are outdated. Contact us for up-to-date information.
Individual Fellowships allow you to take control of your own research career. You can pick and choose a research group where you can further develop your skillset as long as you find a supervisor and a host organisation that are willing to support your proposal.
Choose the right type
There have been some changes in the Marie S. Curie IF programme over the years. Currently, you can choose the following options:
- A Global Fellowship (IF-GF) that allows you to move outside Europe for 1-2 years, followed by a one year return phase working in a European country.
- A European Fellowship (IF-EF) in which you leave your current country of residence to work in a European country for at least one year. The IF-EF fellowship comes in different flavors. The most common one is the standard panel with no specific criteria. If you’re coming back from a break in your research career (e.g. due to employment outside of research or sick leave), you can go for the career restart panel. The reintegration panel is for researchers returning to Europe from a country outside Europe. Finally, if you want to gain experience in the non-academic sector, you can opt for the society and enterprise panel.
Writing from a career perspective
The Marie S. Curie IF programme aims to fund excellent individual researchers and enhance their creative and innovative potential. This means that the training aspect in relation to your career forms the backbone of the proposal. Besides describing the proposed research, you should pay a lot of attention to what you will learn from the project and how this will benefit your future career.
You will probably learn specific skills and methodology on the job. Be explicit about this. But also describe a training plan with specific courses. This plan preferably includes not only scientific but also transferable skills. If you want, you can include secondments to other organisations to further optimize your training during the fellowship.
How Fundament can help
Are you writing your Marie S. Curie IF application? Or do you have contact with a talented postdoc wanting to join your research group with an Individual Fellowship? We offer one-day reviews that quickly help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your current draft. You can book your review online!
