Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) celebrated its 20^th anniversary, beginning this month. Celebrations will continue to carry on for one year till November 2017, and were kick started in Brussels with an inaugural event revealing a photographic display of MSCA fellows and a statue of the double Nobel prize winner Marie Sklodowska-Curie herself, in the presence of Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and Vice-President of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness.

Since 1969 MSCA have provided European support for researchers and spilled out countless grants to traine top tear academics at all career stages. With a strong view to advancing transnational, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility, the grants equip a current and next generation of researches with the means to meet todays and tomorrows societal challenges.  

Looking back on 20 years of impact, the programme has supported a total of 98 000 researchers. With a budget of EUR 6.2 billion for the period 2014-2020 since the years of Horizon 2020 MSCA has supported 18 000 beneficiaries, 80 000 before 2014, with the beginning of 2017 anticipated to mark the programme’s 100 000^th fellow. Around 65 000 researchers, including 25 000 PhD candidates are expected to take advantage of MSCA opportunities by 2020. Beyond attracting researchers from all over the EU, MSCA has fostered opportunities for talent globally, with 25% of fellows stemming from nations outside the EU or associated countries of Horizon 2020 and about 5000 organisations from 107 countries have participated. Inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation place central in the programme and 170 million in support have been spilled out to non-academic organisation. 887 companies, including 519 SMEs have have had the opportunity to shape around a 1000 projects that create lasting impact by training researchers and building a common knowledge base.

Un-doubtfully Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions have fostered excellence, since 2014 alone producing four Nobel prize winners in disciplines ranging from chemistry, to medicine and physics.

20 years of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions