We are pleased to announce the third edition of the proposal training dedicated to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions - Doctoral Networks. This training is organised by the Belgian MSCA National Contact Points (NCPs): NCP Flanders, NCP FNRS and NCP Federal BE. It aims to support potential applicants and host institutions from both the academic and non-academic sectors.  

The MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN) 

Doctoral Networks implement doctoral programmes, which respond to well-identified needs in various research and innovation areas, expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer research training, as well as transferable skills and competences relevant for innovation and long-term employability. 

DN are consortia of at least 3 independent entities (e.g. universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other non-academic organisations) based in different EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. DN are also open to the participation of organisations from third countries.  

All areas of research and innovation may be funded, following a bottom-up approach. Supported researchers are doctoral candidates of any nationality. There are 3 different DN modalities: 

• The Standard Doctoral Networks 

• The Industrial Doctorates 

• The Joint Doctorates 

Standard Doctoral Networks (Standard DNs) and Industrial Doctorates (IDs) can last for up to 4 years, and Joint Doctorates (JDs) can last for up to 5 years. The duration of each fellowship is between 3 and 36 months for Standard DNs and IDs, and between 3 and 48 months in the case of JDs. Each beneficiary must recruit at least one doctoral candidate and can also organise secondments for them anywhere in the world. 

The training session 

In the morning, participants will receive a thorough introduction to the Excellence, Impact, and Implementation evaluation criteria through interactive exercises. In the afternoon, one or two previously evaluated proposals will be discussed in small groups. These discussions will be led by experienced evaluators and supported by the NCPs. Please note that different proposal(s) as last year’s training will be used. 

Our target audience for this event is limited to researchers willing to participate to a DN call as beneficiary and to support staff members from Belgian organisations. Due to limited capacity, registrations will be validated on a first-come, first-served basis, while also ensuring balanced representation across the communities. 

Participation to this training is free, registration is required and highly recommended by the 2^nd of July. In the first week of July, the first registrations will be validated, and the first confirmations will be sent. Afterwards, a second batch of confirmations will be sent in the week of the 11th of August. Once the maximum capacity is reached, participants will be placed on a waiting list and contacted as soon as a place becomes available. If, at any point before the event, you find that you are no longer able to attend, please inform the organisers as soon as possible so they can offer your place to someone on the waiting list. 

You are welcome to include any questions you may have at this stage in the registration form. We encourage you to take this opportunity, as all questions submitted in advance will be addressed during the relevant parts of the training.  

The programme and registration form are available here.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the organisers: 

Margot Beereboom (NCP Flanders) 

Nadège Ricaud (NCP FNRS) 

Madeline Simon (NCP Federal BE)