As the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2026, Sorbonne University is reinforcing its commitment to hosting young international researchers. Since 2023, the university has been deploying a support system across the Sorbonne University Alliance to aid applications for European postdoctoral contracts. Eleonora Zuolo, head of the Research Strategy, Projects, and Funding office at Sorbonne University, highlights this initiative's success, noting that the number of submitted projects has more than doubled in three years.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA), established in 1996, form a European program for research and training funding. They aim to support scientific careers, collaborations, and researcher mobility. The Postdoctoral Fellowships enable doctoral graduates to develop research projects within a host institution, guided by a supervisor. These projects, open to all disciplines, foster international mobility, interdisciplinary collaborations, and exchanges with sectors like businesses or cultural institutions.
Two contract types are offered: European Fellowships (two years, research within the EU and associated countries) and Global Fellowships (three years, including a period outside the EU and associated countries). European funding provides attractive conditions, including remuneration for the postdoc, mobility and family allowances, and a budget for the host laboratory's research and training expenses. These contracts offer an opportunity for laboratories to recruit high-level scientists.
In 2022, Sorbonne University initiated a review to increase its participation in Postdoctoral Fellowships, observing that applications were concentrated in a limited number of laboratories. The goal was to broaden this participation and offer enhanced support. In 2023, an interfaculty support system was launched, managed by the Directorate of Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the faculties' research and valorization departments and the support services of the Sorbonne University Alliance member institutions.
This system, open to the entire Alliance, aims to raise awareness of laboratories among an international pool of postdocs and assist teams in preparing demanding applications. It follows the annual European calls calendar, with a submission deadline typically in early September. Steps include identifying potential supervisors, disseminating thematic profiles, matching candidates with supervisors, and providing support until project submission.
In 2026, 140 supervisors from the Sorbonne University Alliance expressed interest, and approximately 400 eligible applications were received at the Sorbonne University level, resulting in about fifty researcher-candidate pairs. The number of projects submitted to the European Commission has more than doubled since 2023. The program contributes to diversifying participating teams and increasing the international visibility of scientific themes.
Despite increasing European competition, where success rates have fallen below 10%, Sorbonne University ranks as the leading French university in terms of Postdoctoral Fellowships obtained since 2021 (44 projects), following the CNRS. The ambition is to further enhance its attractiveness and open new research perspectives.
Key figures for 2026 include: 30 years of Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, 140 interested supervisors, 11 projects secured by Sorbonne University exceeding €2.2 million, and 44 Postdoctoral Fellowships obtained since 2021.
