A guide to the MSCA DN funding scheme

The components of the MSCA Doctoral Networks (DN)

Having acquired a better understanding of the purpose of the MSCA DN funding scheme, let’s review the project’s structure and key components to be included for the purpose of successfully achieving MSCA DN goals. In this context, a highly competitive MSCA DN proposal should involve the following elements:

• Novel research and transferable skills and competencies;
• Enhanced networking and communication;
• Transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines;
• Integration of training and research activities between participating organisations;
• Secondments (short-term research training in an associated partner organisation different from the host institution).

When realizing such components, it is crucial that they do not ‘stand-alone’ as isolated parts. Instead, a competitive proposal should demonstrate how the aspects mentioned in the above list will be mutually realized through the features characterizing the MSCA DN funding scheme:

• Ambitious research objectives: From a scientific point of view, Doctoral Networks are bottom-up projects. This means there are no predefined priorities to the topic or disciplines addressed by the project as long as the proposal can establish that the project is of high scientific quality. As such, the proposed research should be innovative and positioned at the forefront of its respective field, in order to carry impact to the career and employability of the doctoral candidates. Taking part in a scientifically ambitious project, and hands-on experience in the state-of-the-art research in their field will make them desired future employees.
• Individual doctoral candidates’ projects: Each doctoral candidate has their own individual project which needs to feed into the project’s objectives and scientific work packages. The projects need to be illustrated in the application. It is important that the supervisors plan projects carefully, such that all projects are well embedded in the network and work packages, and that they benefit from the relevant competencies available in the network. As can be expected from a training network, some level of synergy and cooperation between projects (and doctoral candidates) is expected. Finally, the level of dependence between the projects should not be too high so as to put one individual project at risk if another project encounters difficulties.
• “The network”: In MSCA DN, the network consists of both beneficiaries and associated partners.
  • Beneficiaries are equivalent to “partners” in other Horizon Europe collaborative grants. They are legal entities that sign the grant agreement. A consortium must include at least three beneficiaries i.e., independent legal entities, representing at least three different EU Member State/Horizon Europe Associated Country and with at least one of them located in an EU Member State. As part of their responsibilities, beneficiaries recruit, supervise, host and train researchers, and directly receive funds for doing so. In order to be considered a beneficiary, an entity should host at least one doctoral candidate.
  • Associated partners, on the other hand, do not recruit any researchers. Rather, they provide additional research and transferable skills training and/or secondment opportunities. In order for the doctoral candidates to benefit most from the diversity and interdisciplinarity of the network, cross-network training activities, and secondments to participating organisations other than their primary host, are expected.
• Cross-sectorial collaboration: A crucial part in enhancing the career perspectives and employability of researchers in tomorrow’s market is understanding the link between academia and relevant non-academic sectors, and being exposed to various working and research environments. The DN is expected to involve academic and non-academic organisations such as businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from the EU and beyond. Assessing the extent and quality of the involvement of non-academic participants is part of the project evaluation.
• High-quality transferable skill training: Beyond the scientific point of view, and to complement the scientific topics, the training program should include various transferable skills training. This can include workshops on scientific writing and proposal writing, IPR management, entrepreneurship and exploitation of research results, communication skills and personal development, ethics, team skills, multicultural awareness, gender issues, research integrity, etc. This, too, aims to contribute to the career perspectives and employability of the candidates.

Whether the project offers a standard doctorate (DN), industrial doctorate (DN-ID) or joint doctorate (DN-JD), all the above-mentioned features are “must-haves” for any competitive MSCA DN proposal.