The 2026 call of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships received 21,627 proposals.

It is very competitive. A proposal will be much stronger when starting early.

Few days ago we had an open meeting for those interested in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027 application (deadline September 2027). It contained basic information about our approach to support to be more competitive by non-academic placement, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary activities, digital transition, etc. Participants could also ask questions related to their interest and need.

Several who contact us share that they have difficult to find host. Contacting by email gets no reply. Probably those potential hosts have many requests, and for them to filter who are genuine match takes time and energy. A well motivated email may have response because the match is clearly presented in the email. It could also be diluted by the large number of emails which research leaders get together with invitations for various conferences in topics which are not relevant to their research, or invitations to publish in journals which have a topic which they have no activity in.

A shared CV does not reflect your professional capability. It acts as a storefront window that invites but does not truly reveal the inside.

A way to showcase is by presentation. A good presentation and professional way to discuss in Q&A part reflects more about your professional expertise. It also gives you a personal touch, and personal chemistry is an important part of collaboration. That is why we use forums. At the same time, a forum acts to expand your network and presentation is an outreach activity. Such are always valuable, one way or another. It also acts as a natural filter. Those who make effort to apply for projects and present, and in general be active in a community exchange, show that they try.

There are other calls for postdoctoral fellowships than MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027. Being active and visible to build network is a way to come to such.

We created Postdoc Professionals for community exchange. It now has its own web page and LinkedIn page. MSCA Sweden will focus on placement and training, and Postdoc Professionals on the career by community exchange. We shared about the idea at the open meeting. Next open meeting is Oct 13. That will again focus on the added values by non-academic placement/training, and present the career orientation that is active via the Postdoc Professionals platform. It also has a LinkedIn page.