DN: What is the difference between joint, double and multiple degrees in Joint Doctorates?

In joint degrees there is only one diploma signed by two universities, while in double/multiple degrees the fellow receives two or more diplomas, each signed by the respective university.

PF: If an applicant was employed by an organisation based in the country of application, how should the time of maternity leave spent outside the country be considered for the mobility rule?

If the researcher had a contract with an organisation in the country of application covering the period of the maternity leave, this time will be taken into account for the mobility rule, even if the researcher was not physically present in the country of application during the maternity leave.

PF: When should the special needs allowance be requested for Postdoctoral Fellowships?

Beneficiaries can consult the Guidelines for Management of the MSCA Special Needs in Horizon Europe Grants here. Beneficiaries can apply at any time during the implementation of the MSCA project:

“The support will be granted based on the request submitted by the coordinator/beneficiary of the MSCA grant to the granting authority. Any beneficiary of a running Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe MSCA grant with a recruited researcher or (for RISE/SE) seconded staff member who has special needs can submit a request at any time during the implementation of the MSCA grant. The request should contain a description of the special needs, the type of support and the budget requested. 

Note: The requested special needs support is limited to a maximum of EUR 60,000 per recruited researcher/staff member. If the amount needed to cover the special needs of the concerned researcher/staff member is higher than EUR 60,000, the remainder shall be covered from other sources.

The MSCA beneficiary shall submit the request, based on the template provided below under Annex I, to the Project Officer via the Formal Notification system of the Portal.  The request shall be submitted for each researcher/staff member with special needs. If there is more than one researcher/staff member with special needs recruited/seconded by the beneficiary in the framework of the same MSCA grant agreement, a separate request needs to be submitted for each of the concerned researchers/staff members.”

PF: Is Puerto Rico considered a part of the United States of America?

Puerto Rico is considered a territory of the USA. When applicants include an Associated Partner in their proposal from Puerto Rico, it is considered as the USA.

PF: Can the 5 years of legal and continuous residence within EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries be spent at two (or more) EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries?

The rule says “within EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries” which means they can stay in more than one country as long as they stayed more than 5 years with no breaks more than 3 months at once and 10 months in total. Moreover, the applicant does not have to possess the official long-term residency status.

PF: Should applicants address the ethics section only if their research activity involves the development, deployment and/ or use of Artificial Intelligence?

Applicants who plan to develop, deploy and/ or use Artificial Intelligence in their project should address this under Criterion 1 (Excellence) as they would do for any other key methodology they plan to use in the project. Addressing the technical robustness of AI systems is no longer required under Criterion 1.

As in previous MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships calls, whenever applicants intend to develop, deploy, or make use of AI in their project, they should answer ‘Yes’ to the relevant question in Part A, Section 4 - Ethics and Security, and provide an explanation of the ethical implications of the objectives, methodology, and potential impact of AI in their project, as well as compliance with relevant ethical principles and legislation, in the Ethics self-assessment of Part A (and in Part B2, if necessary).

Further information can be found in the document How to complete your ethics self-assessment. Applicants should also be aware of how the AI Act can affect their research activities.

PF: Is shared supervision in Postdoctoral Fellowships allowed?

Shared supervision is indeed allowed and encouraged in Postdoctoral Fellowships as long as it is described in Part B. However, it is necessary to list only one supervisor from the host organisation in Part A.

COFUND: Can organisations recruit associate professors or is it limited to postdocs only?

As long as organisations recruit researchers with a PhD, it is up to the beneficiary to decide which level they aim at.

PF: Is a researcher with a contract in a third country of exactly 12 months in the last 3 years eligible to apply for a Global Fellowship with an organisation in the same third country?

Yes, they are eligible to apply with an organisation in the same third country. However, if the candidate arrived in the country before the start date of the employment contract (e.g. to look for an apartment) or left after the end date of the employment contract, the period of residence starts from the day they arrived in the country and ends the day they left (e.g. dates of flight/ train tickets, visa, etc.).

COFUND: Can research funding organisations apply for the Choose Europe call?

This would only be possible if this is the organisation that will recruit the fellows. It would not be possible to request the Choose Europe funding as a funder and then redistribute the funding to i.e. universities to recruit the fellows, as implementing partners would be needed for this.