The European Commission published a new call to develop a suitable structure for a fellowship scheme for researchers at risk that would address the currently fragmented and limited support to this group of academics at EU level.

The proposed action will pilot a European Fellowship Scheme to support Researchers at Risk by establishing, testing and validating procedures for the selection of researchers (assessing their risk and awarding them the fellowship) and for matching researchers with host institutions in the EU. The action will contribute to enhancing support for researchers at risk to continue their work in a safe environment, whether academic or non-academic.

The new scheme will establish, test and validate procedures to

• assess the risks faced by applying researchers and the excellence of the proposal
• select and award researchers a fellowship
• match researchers with host institutions in the EU, when needed
• award around 30 fellowships for researchers at risk to continue their work in a safe environment, whether academic or non-academic.

Researchers may come from all domains of research and innovation. They can be either doctoral candidates (enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree) or postdoctoral researchers (in possession of a doctoral degree).

The action is expected to contribute to the skills development and career enhancement of the supported individual researchers such as

• new transferable skills and competences
• new knowledge
• enhanced networking and communication capacities
• long-lasting collaborative links with EU counterparts

The call is open for submissions from 28 June 2023, with the deadline to apply by 7 September 2023.

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