SE: Can PhD candidates and Postdoctoral fellows be seconded in Staff Exchanges if they do not receive salaries from the sending organisation?

REA requires some sort of reassurance that the PhD candidate is legally connected to the sending organisation; a supplementary agreement can be signed as evidence of a legal link between the sending organisation and the PhD candidate.

The fact of being a registered PhD candidate is considered enough proof of an established ‘link’ with the sending organisation. However, this alone is not enough for the PhD candidate to be considered eligible, as all the other conditions of eligibility need to be fulfilled, namely:

- being under the supervision of the sending organisation,

- being committed full-time during the secondment, i.e. being seconded on a full-time basis,

- having the correct profile for the task to be implemented, and then

- having all obligations met (where applicable) regarding the Specific Rules listed in Annex 5 of the MGA for unit grants; for example, ensuring that the seconded staff are covered by an adequate medical insurance scheme, etc.

In summary, a PhD candidate may be seconded if they have a contract/agreement allowing them to work full-time on the R&I-related activities of the action during the secondment under the instructions of the sending beneficiary.

As for the Postdoctoral fellows, they are not entitled to participate in a secondment if they don’t have a salary. Indeed, the MSCA top-up allowance must not replace the salary.

COFUND: What should applicants write in the “Own resources” and “Financial contribution” cells of the Budget table?

The applicant’s own resources as well as the co-funding from implementing partners have to be indicated in the “own resources” cell. In the “financial contribution” cell, applicants should indicate the resources from associated partners which are encoded in Part A.

PF: Is there a requirement that a host organisation should have a doctoral programme in order to host an MSCA Postdoctoral fellow?

There is no need for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships beneficiary to offer doctoral programmes. Indeed, any autonomous legal entity, either from the academic or non-academic sector, is entitled to host MSCA PF fellows.

PF: Can a researcher apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship if they have defended their doctoral thesis but the PhD diploma has not yet been awarded?

Successfully defending their doctoral thesis by the call deadline is enough; there is no need for the diploma to have been awarded before the call deadline when applying for the call. 

DN: Are there any requirements regarding the contractual situation of a supervisor in MSCA Doctoral Networks?

Article 6 of the Grant Agreement says that the beneficiary must  “ensure that the employment contract specifies: - the name of the supervisor(s) for the research training activities (…)”. Normally the supervisor should be the beneficiary’s employee.

Usually, when a supervisor retires, the beneficiary informs the Project officer and asks for an amendment to the Grant Agreement to change the supervisor. REA would normally need information on how the new supervisor fits into the description of the action (work to be done on the project and MSCA fellow needs) to make sure this person is suitable.

If a supervisor from the project retires but is interested in continuing their role, the beneficiary can assign a co-supervisor.

 

DN: How is the 70% rule for consortia implemented regarding the resubmission in MSCA Doctoral Networks?

As specified in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025, “Any proposal involving 70% or more of the same recruiting organisations as in another proposal submitted to the previous call of the MSCA Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe that has received a score of less than 80% will be assessed for whether it is a resubmission, irrespectively of the applicants’ self-declaration.”

Therefore, if 7 out of 10 beneficiaries from the previous proposal are in the new consortium, that would be considered 70%, even if new members are added.

PF: Can a third-country national be considered as a long-term resident in EU Member States or Associated countries if they have resided in the UK before the date of its association to Horizon Europe and then moved to their home country for 5 months?

Once a country is associated to Horizon Europe, any period spent in that country (independently of the date of association to Horizon Europe) may be counted towards the calculation of the ‘long-term residence’. Therefore, the time spent in the UK when it was not associated counts towards the five-year requirement.

Applicants can check this FAQ. 

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.”