Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellows: Expression of Interest

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics

Deadline: May 31, 2024

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics is actively seeking to host Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellows.

Do you want to carry out your own original and personalised research project? Would you like to have Insight as your host centre? Does your research expertise align with Insight’s research areas?

Then you should apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, the EU’s flagship programme for postdoctoral training.

We are looking for PhD-holders with less than 8 years’ experience in research, who have not resided in Ireland for more than 12 months during the last 3 years.

Why Insight?

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, is one of the largest data analytics centres in Europe. It brings together over 450 researchers across areas such as the Fundamentals of Data Science, Sensing and Actuation, Scaling Algorithms, Model Building, Multi Modal Analysis, Data Engineering and Governance, Decision Making and Trustworthy AI. Insight’s researchers are based across our four host institutions: Dublin City University, University of Galway, University College Cork and University College Dublin as well as our partner sites Maynooth University, Tyndall, Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick. During its decade of existence, the centre has attracted over €150 million in funding and has established over 220 industry collaborations.

More about Insight’s research ecosystem.

A full list of Insight’s world-class investigators with details on their areas of expertise.

Why MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships?

The goal of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PFs) is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility.

MSCA-PFs are prestigious fellowships, open to excellent researchers of any nationality, including researchers wishing to reintegrate back to Europe, those displaced by conﬂict and those with high potential aiming for a career restart in research.

The scheme encourages researchers to gain experience beyond academia by giving them the opportunity to request an additional six months at the end of their fellowship to undertake a placement in a non-academic organisation in Europe.

The call will close on 11 September 2024 and is expected to fund over 1,200 projects. Results are expected to be published in February 2025 and successful projects are estimated to start after April 2025.

Benefits of MSCA-PFs

Increased set of research and transferable skills, leading to improved employability and career prospects.
New mindsets and approaches to research and innovation built through interdisciplinary and intersectoral experience.
Enhanced networking and communication capacities that will increase the impact of research.
Excellent benefits covering living and mobility allowances, training and networking, and visa-related costs. Where applicable, family, special needs and long-term leave allowances can also be granted.

Application Process

Eligible candidates interested in submitting an application for the MSCA–PF call 2024 with the Insight Centre must first fill out and submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) form available here.

All correctly submitted EoIs will be reviewed by members of the Insight pre-award team. Only those candidates that are deemed eligible and whose expertise and research proposals align with Insight’s scientific areas will be selected for an interview with a potential supervisor. The Insight team will assign candidates to a suitable supervisor based on research alignment and availability.

The decision to support a candidate will be ultimately made by the Investigator and an employment contract will only be issued if the proposal is successful in securing funding in the MSCA-PF 2024 call.

Eligibility

Academic qualification: By the MSCA-PF call deadline (11th September 2024), candidates must be in possession of a doctoral degree, defined as a successfully defended doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded.
Research experience: Candidates must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date applicants were in possession of a doctoral degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g., due to parental leave) will not be taken into account.
Mobility rule: Candidates can be of any nationality but must not have resided more than 12 months in the Republic of Ireland in the last three years by the call deadline (11th September 2024).
Language skills: Candidates must have demonstrated proficiency in English (reading, writing, speaking).

Support offered by Insight and application timeline

The Insight team will review all Expression of Interest (EoI) applications and will assist those candidates who have been selected by a supervisor to apply for the MSCA-PF call with the application process. Candidates will be advised throughout the application process and will avail of proposal draft review and feedback to develop a competitive proposal that meets the European Commission’s standards. As a selected candidate, you will be responsible for developing and writing your own MSCA-PF proposal, with the support of your supervisor.

Timeline

EoI submission deadline: 31st May 2024
EoI review by Insight: Immediately after submission. If the EoI and candidate profile align with Insight’s research areas, the Insight team will put a potential supervisor in contact with the candidate to discuss the project idea.
Feedback on internal selection process: 7 working days after the discussion with the potential supervisor
Proposal development and review with Insight: 5th June to 23rd August 2024
Submission of final draft to Insight: 28th August 2024
Call deadline (submission via the EC Funding & Tender Opportunities system): 11th September 2024, 16:00 Irish time
Publication of the MSCA-PF results: February 2025
Estimated project start (if funded): From April 2025

Funding and contract

Candidates will apply to the funding call with an Insight supervisor and, if successful, will be based at the supervisor’s host institution (see Insight host institutions above).

If the proposal is selected for funding by the European Commission, the successful candidate will be recruited by the host institution and offered a contract of employment for the duration of the fellowship (12 – 24 months). The project is expected to be fully funded by the European Commission through the MSCA-PF scheme.

The candidate will receive a living allowance and a mobility allowance, and, if applicable only, family (€7,920 p.a), long-term leave and special needs allowances.
Additionally, the project will be provided with a research, training and networking contribution (€12,000 p.a).

For more information, please check the application process here, call webpage here and review the official call document here.

For queries and more information on the Insight host application process, please email: msca@insight-centre.org

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics values gender balance and is committed to creating a diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive equal opportunities and consideration for employment.