Newsletter
Ground-breaking research ideas need a fertile environment to grow, and the University of Padua (Unipd) has long been committed to cultivating one. Since 2014, Unipd has been a Host Institution to more than 130 MSCA Fellows and has participated in more than 450 actions within the Horizon 2020 and the Horizon Europe Programme.
Unipd combines history and innovation, attracting students and scholars from all over the world since its founding in 1222. Today, its International Research Office supports researchers in applying for European and International funding, notably through the University Talent in Research Programme: it comprises 4 complementary initiatives designed to attract outstanding postdoc researchers choosing Padua as their Host Institution.
MAster your Research and Training Needs programme – MSCA MaRaThoN@Unipd
The MSCA MaRaThoN@Unipd is a training initiative for top candidates who wish to apply for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA – PF) call. The International Research Office provides comprehensive guidance and support to applicants through all stages of the application process.
A three-day course is usually organised in May, with application procedures opening in February.
Participating researchers receive specific advice and valuable tips on how to best draft their project proposals, working with experts, experienced MSCA evaluators, and awarded MSCA fellows. Additionally, they have the opportunity to meet potential supervisors at the University of Padua, and visit Unipd laboratories and facilities. The training course is open to 40 MSCA candidates. Selected participants have their travel and accommodation costs covered by the University of Padua.
If one commits to apply for a MSCA PF call with Unipd as Host Institution, the International Research Office will be happy to support the application. This includes sharing useful documents, guiding the applicant through the administrative part of the proposal and offering proofreading services.
MSCA Seal of Excellence@Unipd
Within the Horizon Europe framework programme the European Commission awards the “Seal of Excellence – Marie SkłodowskaCurie Actions” to high quality MSCA – PF proposals scoring above the threshold of 85/100 or higher, which could not be funded under the available call budget. The Seal stands for the value of a project proposal in a highly competitive evaluation process, thus recommending it for funding by other sources, at the national, regional or institutional level.
The MSCA Seal of Excellence@Unipd funding programme offers a 50,000 euro annual grant to MSCA – PF projects that have selected the University of Padua as their Host Institution and have obtained the “Seal of Excellence – MSCA Actions” despite not being funded.
The MSCA Seal of Excellence@Unipd funding covers a research grant contract and a budget for research, training and networking expenses. For MSCA-PF Global Fellowship projects, an additional contribution to the mobility of 500 Euros per month is available, limited to the outgoing phase to a Third Country, up to a maximum of 24 months.
Supporting TAlent in ReSearch@ University of Padua - STARS Grants
The Supporting Talent in ReSearch@Unipd – STARS Grants is a funding programme, running every two years (the next is due in 2025), welcoming young pioneers of frontier research. This initiative supports ground-breaking ideas with the potential to turn into competitive proposals for international funding, such as the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants. STARS grants are open to all scientific areas and fund bottom-up research projects of 30 months, submitted by individual Principal Investigators (PIs), who are interested in carrying out their research activities in one of the 32 Departments at Unipd.
Talent@Unipd
The Talent@Unipd programme is a scouting initiative, which aims at identifying exceptional candidates for the ERC Starting Grant (StG) and Consolidator Grant (CoG) calls, choosing Unipd as their Host Institution.
Applicants must match the ERC eligibility criteria and requirements. Upon agreement with their future Host Department, selected researchers are supported at each stage of the ERC application, including proposal writing, negotiation, management and reporting. The PI may benefit from a variety of dedicated measures, in line with the University current regulations, such as tenure track position or permanent position at Unipd.
For more information about the Talent in Research Programme at the University of Padua, you can reach the International Research Office at individual.grants@unipd.it