Marie-Curie calls open in May

The first calls of the MSCA for Horizon Europe will be launched on May 18th. Two important changes have been introduced from past editions: an age limit has been introduced, together with a limit to resubmissions, in the effort to reduce the extraordinary increase in the amount of applications received every year. Moreover, the call will encourage applicants to involve industry in their projects: holders of Marie-Curie postdoctoral grants will be able to get an additional six months funding after their fellowship to spend time in industry, and the number of “industrial PhDs” funded under the doctoral networks call will be increased.

MSCA calls include the possibility for organisations to send staff on exchanges to other countries: the application for this type of funding will be open between 7 October 2021 and 9 March 2022.

EIT novelties for 2021-2027

The Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development organised yesterday an open meeting with Katerina Sereti, Head of Section Stakeholder Relations at the EIT, to discuss EIT novelties. One of them will be an action to support Higher Education Institutions, to create synergies with other Horizon Europe instruments and to offer funding, expertise and coaching. Another will be the strengthening of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme, which will form part of the EIT KIC’s strategies and create links with Smart Specialisation Strategies. The EIT will also reinforce its engagement with member states, through its National Contact Points. The pdf of the full presentation will be available on the Private Area, here.

Austria invests in microelectronics after joining IPCEI

Three companies carrying out R&I in microelectronics (Infineon Austria, AT&S Austria and NXP Semiconductors Austria) will receive a total of €146.5 million funding from the national government, after the country has joined the €1.75 billion Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the field.

Austria is the fifth country to join the IPCEI in microelectronics, which was set-up in 2018 by France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to boost strategic transnational microelectronics innovation.

Dystopian VR experience to raise awareness of biodiversity loss

If you are curious to discover how VR can be used to raise awareness of green policies urgency, you might want to check out Pollination Park, a virtual reality experience that shows a dystopian reality in which pollinators have gone extinct. The instrument is intended to be used by EU participants to the Global Coalition “United for Biodiversity” as part of their campaigns. It is meant for museums and educational institutions, but it can be visualised on a web browser or on an Oculus device from here.