The MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025 call attracted 1,616 proposals, the highest number to date and part of a continued trend of rising competition. With an indicative budget of €597.8 million and over 150 projects expected to be funded, success rates may fall below 10% for the first time in Horizon Europe.
This blog analyses key expectations, interoperability requirements and governance considerations for the upcoming CCAM Federated Data Spacecall topic.
How can edge-AI enable real-time, energy-efficient and secure decision-making in CCAM systems? This blog analyses key expectations, integration with hardware and scalability considerations for the upcoming call.
Explore how realistic human driving behaviour models are critical for CCAM systems validation. This blog analyses the upcoming call topic.
With only weeks left until the MSCA Doctoral Networks deadline on 25 November 2025, writing a competitive proposal may feel impossible. In this blog, we share how to set the right priorities, avoid common pitfalls and use proven strategies to still prepare a strong DN proposal under tight timelines.
As automated mobility continues to evolve, the demand for perception systems capable of anticipating and responding to complex scenarios is critical. The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-03 provides a critical opportunity for the development of safe, energy-efficient and sustainable automated mobility solutions.
As connected and automated mobility accelerates across Europe, Horizon Europe Cluster 5 continues to push boundaries with four strategic 2026 call topics under the co-programmed Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) Partnership
The Implementation section of your MSCA DN proposal accounts for 20% of your final score. Even minor oversights here can negatively impact your score. We have identified common weaknesses in the Implementation section and provide insights on how to avoid them as you prepare your DN proposal.
The Impact section of an MSCA Doctoral Network proposal accounts for 30% of your final score. It is crucial to demonstrate the relevance of your project and its sustainable impact for Europe. Based on our experience with reviewing and improving previously unsuccessful proposals, we have identified common weaknesses and provide insights on how to avoid them as you prepare your DN proposal for the upcoming deadline.
The Excellence section makes up 50% of an MSCA DN proposal’s score, yet many submissions fall short. Common pitfalls include vague objectives, weak integration of projects and limited methodological detail. This blog outlines how to avoid these mistakes and turn weaknesses into strengths ahead of the 25 November 2025 deadline.
The competition for 2025 MSCA DN proposals is expected to be high again. In our blog post, we summarise the priority criteria for proposals with equal scores and some useful tips on writing your next successful proposal.
Resubmitting an MSCA Doctoral Network proposal in 2025? In this blog post, we take you through our team’s top recommendations on how to turn last year’s near miss into a successful application in 2025.
Associated Partners play an intricate role in MSCA DNs by hosting secondments and providing training to Doctoral Candidates. The following blog acts as a guide to help you best coordinate the involvement and participation of Associated Partners in your Doctoral Networks.
The MSCA 2025 Doctoral Networks call opened on 28 May 2025. We reviewed the updated Work Programme and Standard Proposal Template to identify the key changes from last year’s call. Whether you are resubmitting an existing proposal or drafting a new one, ensure you are aware of the critical changes and adapt your new DN proposal accordingly..
The European Commission has completed the evaluation of the proposals submitted for the 2024 MSCA Call for Doctoral Networks. The results of the 2024 call reveal a more intense competition with higher funding thresholds compared to the previous 2023 call.
Which skills can be combined in a training session, and which training sessions should be delivered when and how? accelopment’s tips to create a DC-sized training plan for your next MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN) proposal.
Whether you are considering improving a previously unsuccessful proposal for resubmission, or excited to put forward a whole new idea, this blog post will take you through our team’s top recommendations on how to set up a solid training plan for your next MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN) proposal.
A look into Science Europe’s new ‘Practical Guide to Supporting Diversity in Research Environments’. A must-read guide if you are part of a research organisation willing to improve its equality, diversity and inclusion, but also an insightful resource if you are looking to broaden your awareness of gender diversity and best practices.
To prepare the Doctoral Candidates recruited in your MSCA-DN for a successful project start, a suite of information documents should be made available. Here we summarise which documents are mandatory and which documents we recommend to add to a comprehensive DC starter kit.
Open Science in Horizon Europe promotes early, broad sharing of research knowledge. This blog post guides you through integrating Open Science from proposal writing to project implementation, emphasising adherence to Open Science mandatory and recommended practices.
The statistics of the recent Horizon Europe Health stage-1 proposal submission deadline on 19 September 2023 suggest that the Health programme is more popular than ever. With more than 1,000 proposals submitted to nine call topics, we wonder how many will be invited in December to submit their full proposals by 11 April 2024.
This year’s MSCA-DN proposal submission deadline is rapidly approaching. If you’re still unsure about the expected content of some of the sub-sections of your proposal, the recently published MSCA-NET Doctoral Network Handbook may provide some useful answers.
After your project has been approved for funding, you must establish a Consortium Agreement upon strict deadlines. Find out how to streamline the process, ensuring the satisfaction of all consortium members and creating a comprehensive framework in addition to the EU Grant Agreement.
The priority criteria for equally scored proposals are no mystery. They are clearly outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme, but often go unread. As we expect the competition for funding to be as fierce as ever, here are the main criteria summarised!
Based on our experience from previous proposal writing for MSCA calls, we know how important it is to strike a good balance between scientific and technological training on one side and transferable skills courses on the other. What to consider when writing the Doctoral Network training programme?
Horizon Europe brought many changes to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) scheme. As the term Early Stage Researcher (ESR) is no longer used and the rules have changed, we summarise the key conditions for the recruitment of doctoral candidates in a MSCA Doctoral Network (DN).
Today, we celebrate the 111th International Women’s Day and share some of the latest data on gender (in)equality in research, while linking to relevant Horizon Europe requirements and inviting you to self-explore your implicit biases.
Good quality at all levels of your Horizon Europe project is highly desirable. From the professional quality management to implement your project, to adherence to scientific quality requirements and operational quality procedures at participant level, we can support you with our experience.
Training in transferable skills is an important element of the training programmes included in the EU-funded Marie Curie research and training networks for early-stage researchers and doctoral candidates. They are a “must-have” when planning their next steps within an academic career or applying for jobs in companies and transitioning to industry.
Transferable skills training are a key componenet for MSCA-ITNs and Doctoral Networks. Take our “master quiz” to test your knowledge in some transferable skills aspects and get a taste of what to expect from our online transferable skills training modules.
The long wait is finally over and the first Doctoral Network (DN) call is now open for submission. We had a look at the Guide for Applicants, the new Standard Proposal Template, and the online forms to find out what is different from the Horizon 2020 Marie Curie ITNs.
Grant writing has become an essential activity in academia and beyond. The art of convincing funding bodies through persuasive and compelling proposals is all the more important for early-stage researchers (ESRs) willing to progress in their career, be it in an academic or industry setting.
Identifying the right funding opportunity at the right time has become a critical skill in both academic and industry settings. Especially for less experienced, early-stage researchers, it remains challenging to keep track of suitable funding opportunities to pursue their career.
Science communication is a valuable transferable skill, one that is becoming more and more important with the increase of digital communication channels and platforms. Learn about how we can help Early Stage Researchers in mastering it for a successful career.
Alongside the benefits of working in gender balanced teams, the inclusion of sex and gender aspects in research and innovation leads to research outputs and innovations that are of higher quality, more societally relevant and of added business value.
With the scarcity of research funding and the increasing competition in academia, properly managing research projects has become all the more important. Having a realistic project plan in terms of scope, time and costs is a critical criterion to acquire funding.
A Data Management Plan is a priority for recently started ITNs. Read in this blog how you and your ESRs will get to grips with the essentials of data management.
Discover our latest transferable skills online training courses for ESRs in ongoing MSCA-ITNs. Pick and choose from six interactive, hands-on modules.
Project management and communication are key to successful ITNs. Learn why.
Various seminars offer advise on the preparation of ITNs. We highlight, what makes us different, how we approach things and who should attend.