Marie Curie International Fellowships

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research has published three calls for proposals under the ‘People’ programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

Intended to provide support for training and career development of researchers, the calls include:

Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)
International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF)
International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)
The Intra-European Fellowship scheme targets experienced researchers seeking to enhance their individual competence and acquire new skills at an interdisciplinary level. Under certain conditions, European nationals established in Australia are eligible to conduct the project in a host European institution.

International Outgoing Fellowships aim to reinforce the international dimension of European researchers by giving them the opportunity to work in a high-level research organisation in a third country. The Marie Curie IOF provides financial support to a European fellow completing a research and training project for 1 or 2 years (typically 18 months) in an Australian institution then returning to the European host institution for 12 months. The fellowship covers a stipend for the duration of the project, overheads for the project administration, travel and limited funding for other research activities.

The International Incoming Fellowship scheme is addressed at top-class researchers active in third countries, who would like to work on research projects and share their knowledge with colleagues in Europe. Ultimately, the goal is to develop mutually beneficial research cooperation between Europe and third countries. The Marie Curie IIF provides financial support to an Australian fellow taking a research and training project to an host institution in Europe for 1 to 2 years. The fellowship covers a stipend for the duration of the project, overheads for the project administration, travel and limited funding for other research activities.

cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/?fuseaction=UserSite.FP7DetailsCallPage&call_id=200

Important to consider:

• All disciplines of research are covered by the scheme.
• Success rates for MCIOF was of 25% during last round, and for MCIIF was 21% during the 2008 round (26% for fellows going to Australia) but varies across disciplinary panel.
• The schemes are open to researchers at all career stages. The candidate needs to justify of 4 years of research experience or a doctorate degree at the time of submission.
• The new Marie Curie website is a good source of information about the scheme: cordis.europa.eu/fp7/mariecurieactions.