The first Info Day for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) as the first pillar of the Horizon Europe 2021-2027 program of the European Union took place on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the Center for Advanced and Postdoctoral Research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje – CAPRIS UKIM. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia and the national contact person for the MSCA, in collaboration with the Center for Advanced and Postdoctoral Research – CAPRIS UKIM at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, supported by the European Research Executive Agency.
The focus of the event was the newly opened call for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships for candidates up to 8 years after obtaining their PhD (with a deadline for application on September 11, 2024), but it also covered other actions within the MSCA, as well as experiences from previous beneficiaries.
The event was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at UKIM in Skopje and the Director of CAPRIS UKIM, and the Vice-Rector for Science at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Prof. Dr. Valentina Gechevska, and the national contact person for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Martinovska Stojcheska.
Prof. Dr. Ognen Marina, in his address, emphasized:
“The vision of CAPRIS UKIM is to be a center of scientific excellence and high-quality research that promotes informed, multidisciplinary, and inclusive scientific and public debate on topics and challenges relevant to the future sustainable development of society. It is therefore a great pleasure that today, with this event, together with all of you, we are taking the first steps in realizing this vision in the best possible way, by promoting the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) which are part of the EU’s leading Horizon Europe program, a primary funding scheme for European research and education at doctoral and postdoctoral levels.”
The Vice-Rector for Science at UKIM, Prof. Dr. Valentina Gechevska, in her address, highlighted:
“The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fund excellence in research and innovation and support researchers at all stages of their careers, helping them acquire new knowledge and skills, through engagement in mobility across various research environments. MSCA focuses on developing programs for doctoral studies and postdoctoral research, by funding joint research projects, thus contributing to the development of higher education institutions and research centers in Europe and beyond. In this direction, UKIM’s commitment is to intensively familiarize members of the academic community with the opportunities offered through European programs, encouraging their participation and enhancing their competencies. The Center for Advanced Postdoctoral Research at UKIM, located at the Faculty of Architecture, is the right place for sharing information and supporting UKIM researchers.”
“Today’s info day offers information about the opportunities available to young researchers at UKIM, through the open calls of MSCA. I believe that they will be encouraged and will apply, so alongside using ERASMUS mobilities intended for educational stays, the number of MSCA mobilities focused on research stays at UKIM will increase,” added Prof. Dr. Valentina Gechevska.
The event featured an introductory lecture and presentation on MSCA postdoctoral fellowships by Ms. Eleonora Sconci, a project officer from the European Research Executive Agency, the national coordinator of the Horizon Europe program, Ms. Marina Nikolovska from the Ministry of Education and Science with information about the Horizon Europe program – experience and opportunities, and the national contact person Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Martinovska Stojcheska with an overview of the MSCA actions and the upcoming calls.
This was followed by presentations sharing their experiences as direct scholarship recipients of the program by Dr. Gordana Siljanovska from BASF Germany and Federico Grasselli from EPFL Switzerland.
Prof. Dr. Emilija Finadčevski, a member of the MSCA Program Committee, also addressed the audience with the latest news and events.
Finally, Prof. Dr. Ljupčo Eftimov, Vice-Dean for Education at the Faculty of Economics – Skopje, presented the GETM4 project as a successful story from North Macedonia – the first MSCA Staff Exchange project in the new cycle of the Horizon Europe program, after which guest speaker Prof. Dr. Nada Zupan from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, a partner in the project, highlighted the experiences and benefits of leading an MSCA project.
After the official part of the MSCA Info Day, participants had the opportunity for informal discussions and networking with their colleagues in the premises of CAPRIS UKIM.
