Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF)

Objective

Postdoctoral Fellowships promote individual research projects of Postdocs at research institutions in Europe and abroad.

Postdoctoral Fellowships are divided into European Fellowships and Global Fellowships. They aim to enhance the career opportunities of Postdocs through international and inter-sectoral mobility.

Participation requirements for researchers

Only postdoctoral researchers are eligible. At the date of the call deadline, they must be in possession of a doctoral degree, defined as a successfully defended doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded. Additionally, they must have a maximum of eight years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date that the researcher was in a possession of their first doctoral degree and certified by appropriate documents.

• European Fellowships: Postdocs of any nationality whose host organisation is located in a Member State or Associated Country may apply.
• Global Fellowships: Postdocs who are either European nationals (of a Member State or Associated Country) or who have been continuously living in Europe (EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries) for at least five consecutive years (periods of absence are taken into account where they are shorter than six consecutive months and do not exceed in total ten months within a period of five years) at any time in the past may apply. They complete a research stay in a Third Country, followed by an obligatory return period of twelve months at the host institution in a Member State or an Associated Country.

Participation requirements for institutions

Postdoctoral Fellowships support research stays at an academic or non-academic institution with the aim to enhance the researchers' competences and skill sets.

• European Fellowships: The institution must be based in a Member State or an Associated Country.
• Global Fellowships: Two institutions are required: one institution in a Third Country and one institution in a Member State or Associated Country. The fellowship is divided into a 1-2-year stay in a Third Country and a mandatory return phase at a European host institution. The European host institution for the return phase can be located in any Member State or Associated Country, even in the researcher's country of origin.

Mobility rule

Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host organisation's country for more than twelve months in the three years immediately before the call deadline. In the case of Global Fellowships, the mobility rule applies to the Third Country, not to the mandatory return phase’s country in Europe.

Funding

European Fellowships can cover research stays of between 12 and 24 months duration, Global Fellowships cover periods of between 24 and 36 months. If requested and justified in the proposal, an additional placement of up to six months can be awarded to researchers who will spend that period in a non-academic organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

Researchers may opt to include inter-sectoral secondments. For European Postdoctoral Fellowships, secondments cannot exceed one third of the standard fellowship duration. For Postdoctoral Global Fellowships optional secondments are permitted for up to one third of the outgoing phase. Secondments cannot take place during the mandatory 12-month return period to the host organisation in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

Financial aspects

Financial support is provided in the form of allowances covering living, mobility and, if applicable, family costs. The host institutions receive fixed amounts for their administrative and indirect costs.

Application

The researcher and the host institution jointly apply for the fellowship, but the final application shall be submitted by the host institution.

Resubmission

Proposals involving the same recruiting organisation (and for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships also the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase) and individual researcher submitted to the previous call of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe and having received a score of less than 70% must not be resubmitted the following year.