Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility criteria of Marie Curie Initial Training Networks apply. Only applicants who comply with these conditions will be considered.

Nationality

Researchers can be of any nationality but have to comply with the conditions of mobility.

Conditions of mobility

To be eligible to apply for one of the ER or ESR fellowships in the network, the researcher must not have resided, worked or studied in the country of their (recruiting) host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to the time of recruitment. Compulsory national service and/or short stays are not taken into account.

Example A: a French researcher has moved to Germany for the first time and has carried out research there for the last six months. He can be appointed within an ITN team in Germany.

Example B: a German researcher has spent 11 months in Germany just prior to his appointment. Before that period he's been working in the UK for 3 years. Thus, he can be appointed in an ITN team in Germany.

Conditions of experience

To be eligible for one of the ESR fellowships, the candidate must at the time of recruitment not yet have been awarded the doctoral degree and be in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers. This is measured from the date when he/she obtained the degree which formally entitles him/her to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the research training is provided, irrespective of whether or not a doctorate was envisaged.

To be eligible for one of the ER fellowships, the candidate must at the time of recruitment be EITHER in possession of a doctoral degree, irrespective of the time taken to acquire it, OR have at least four years full-time equivalent research experience. This is measured from the date when the researcher obtained the degree which formally entitles him/her to embark on a doctorate in the country in which the degree was obtained. In both cases, they should have less than 5 years of full-time equivalent research experience.

Note: an individual researcher may not be recruited as an early-stage researcher and subsequently as an experienced researcher within the same network. In addition, recruitment of early stage researchers means recruitment of early stage researchers and recruitment of experienced researchers means recruitment of experienced researchers. An early stage researcher cannot be ‘converted’ to an experienced researcher and vice versa.

Example C: a researcher has graduated with a first degree in biology in 2004 and would like to start her Ph.D. in 2007. She is eligible as an ESR within the ITN as she has less than 4 years of research experience and no PhD.

Example D: a researcher obtained her PhD after 3½ years. She is not eligible as an ESR within the ITN even though she has less than 4 years of research experience. However, she would be eligible to be appointed as an Experienced Researcher within the first five years of her career.

Example E: a researcher obtained her PhD after 4 years and subsequently worked in research for 13 months under a postdoctoral position. She would not be eligible to be appointed as an ER as her research experience exceeds the first five years of her career.

Example F: a researcher is in the process of writing up her Ph.D. after 4½ years of research and would like to apply for an appointment within an ITN. While she has not yet gained her doctorate, she would not be considered as an ESR due to her level of experience. However, she would be eligible for recruitment as an ER.