European External Action Service

08/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/27/2024 06:06

The European Union and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India announce co funding to foster EU India research cooperation under the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions

Today, the European Union and the India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have launched a new co-funding initiative for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions(MSCA) Staff Exchanges, part of the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.

Through this scheme, CSIR will top up selected MSCA Staff Exchangesprojects, enabling its institutes to engage in joint research projects with European and international partners and second their scientific and technical staff to European research organisations for knowledge sharing and research activities. This will promote a balanced researcher mobility and long-term collaborations.

The funding will be from 2025 to 2027 and be open to any CSIR institution involved in successful projects selected under the upcoming Staff Exchanges calls.

This new partnership will strengthen research and innovation ties between Europe and India and drive forward scientific and technological progress by enhancing bilateral institutional cooperation, collaborative research and researcher exchanges in a plurilateral setting under Horizon Europe.

Through its Staff Exchanges scheme, the MSCA promote collaborative research, knowledge transfer and innovation by supporting the secondment of research and innovation staff within international consortia of organisations based in the EU, countries associated to Horizon Europe and third countries.

The next callsof Staff Exchanges will open on 19 September 2024, with a deadline of 5 February 2025, and ­f 27 March 2025, with a deadline on 8 October 2025.

Background

About the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Founded in 1942, CSIR is India's premier research and development organisation, comprising 37 national laboratories and a dedicated team of over 8,000 scientific and technical staff. Known for its excellence in fields ranging from aerospace and pharmaceuticals to environmental engineering and genomics, CSIR has a robust history of successful collaborations with European research institutions and has actively participated in various EU research programmes.

About the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actionsunder Horizon Europe is the reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. They support researchers across any career stage, as well as doctoral training and postdoctoral fellowship programmes and collaborative research in all domains.

Since 2014, the MSCA have supported 182 research and innovation projects involving Indian organisations. India ranks first among non-European countries in participation of individual researchers, with over 2,800 Indian beneficiaries over the ten past years, including about 1,800 PhD candidates and 1,000 postdoctoral researchers.

For more information

More information on the co-funding scheme for interested consortia and Indian organisations

Information on how to apply to MSCA Staff Exchanges

Quote(s)

Ambassador of the European Union to India, Hervé Delphin:"The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges co-funding initiative marks a watershed moment in EU-India research cooperation. This initiative comes in support of our political commitment to enhancing scientific excellence and people-to-people connectivity, as outlined in the EU-India Joint Roadmap 2025. Facilitating exchanges between our most brilliant researchers, will turbocharge joint innovation in all domains and pool our expertise to better address global challenges that impact our economies and societies."Dr. (Mrs.) N. KALAISELVI, Director General, CSIR and Secretary DSIR, Government of India:"We are excited to join forces with the EU on this transformative initiative. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges co-funding programme will not only boost the exchanges of our researchers but also forge stronger institutional ties and foster ground breaking research collaborations. We look forward to the profound impact this will have on science and technology in both regions."