MSCA4Ukraine Fellowships 2025

Expected Impact:

• Allow the EU to respond to the crisis faced by displaced researchers from Ukraine in line with its core values, and academic freedom in particular.
• Sustain Ukrainian research and innovation capacities by allowing displaced researchers from Ukraine to continue their research activities and enable them to contribute to restoring Ukraine’s R&I sector.
• Reinforcement of the EU research and innovation cooperation with Ukraine.

Expected Outcome:

Through the provision of fellowships to displaced researchers from Ukraine, the grant is expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Protection of displaced researchers from Ukraine to continue their research in academic or non-academic organisations^[1] in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries through dedicated fellowships and facilitate their reintegration to Ukraine when safe conditions for return are met.
• Strengthened integration between the EU and Ukrainian research and innovation communities.

At the level of individual researchers to be supported, the following outcomes are expected:

• New research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved employability and career prospects within and outside academia and contributing to rebuilding Ukraine’s R&I sector once the conditions allow.
• New knowledge allowing the conversion of ideas into products and services, where relevant.
• Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation impact.

Scope:

Given that the ongoing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has caused and continues to cause significant damage to Ukraine’s R&I landscape as well as to force researchers based in Ukraine to flee the country, the need for support remains. The objective of the grant is to provide this support in the form of fellowships to displaced researchers from Ukraine to continue or resume their research activities at host organisations established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

Support to individual researchers should be open to all domains of research and innovation and aligned with the general objectives and principles of the MSCA, including scientific excellence, skills and career development, inter-sectoral mobility, equal opportunities and inclusiveness, attractive working conditions, work/life balance, while fostering open science, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Support will include training activities that should respond to well-identified needs in various research and innovation areas, with appropriate references to inter- and multidisciplinary fields. They should be primarily focused on developing new scientific knowledge through original research on personalised projects. Complementary training should also be provided to develop key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, and promote and (where appropriate) reward Open Science practices.

Short-term secondments of researchers to other organisations than those recruiting them, especially based in Ukraine if conditions allow, and including in third countries non-associated to Horizon Europe, are encouraged when relevant, feasible and beneficial for the researchers and in line with the research objectives. Inter-sectoral secondments are particularly encouraged to increase the employability of the researchers outside academia.

Particular attention will be paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career guidance.

Supported researchers can be either doctoral candidates (i.e. already enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree) or postdoctoral researchers (i.e. in possession of a doctoral degree). They must be either Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons, or nationals from third countries other than Ukraine, residing in Ukraine, who have been displaced on or after 24 February 2022.

Eligible third parties that will recruit researchers include any academic or non-academic organisations established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Other organisations, including those established in non-associated third countries can host researchers for short-term secondments.

If conditions allow, organisations based in Ukraine are encouraged to host displaced researchers thus supporting their reintegration back into the country.

The duration of each individual fellowship is to be determined by the beneficiaries in agreement with the recruiting organisations, with a maximum duration of 2 years.

Secondments to other organisations are eligible for up to one third of the fellowship duration.

The expected duration of the action is 36 months.

[1] See definitions at the end of this Work Programme