This is the edition of 20 October 2026. The announcements below are the ones compiled on that day. Read the current edition.
This digest brings together a selection of notable announcements from European research bodies, covering funding developments, recognition of researchers, and opportunities relevant to doctoral candidates and early-career researchers.
These summaries are written by Clau and each links to its original announcement. Clau is independent and not affiliated with the European Union or its research bodies.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · 6 October 2026
Two Nobel Prizes have been awarded to researchers with ties to Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: Georg Nagel, a former MSCA fellow, shared the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, while Francis Halzen, a supervisor in an MSCA-funded project on neutrino astronomy, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. These recognitions highlight the long-term career trajectories that MSCA funding can support. For doctoral and early-career researchers, the awards illustrate how participation in MSCA-funded projects can connect individuals to internationally significant scientific work.
Read the full announcement at Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · 30 September 2026
An additional investment of over 210 million euros has been announced for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, responding to record-breaking demand from researchers: the 2026 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call attracted more than 21,600 applications, the highest figure ever recorded across more than four decades of EU research framework programmes. The extra funding will increase the budgets for both Postdoctoral Fellowships and Doctoral Networks, and the programme as a whole is set to receive over 1.3 billion euros in 2027. Early-career researchers should be aware that this expansion means more funded positions will be available under the final calls of the current Horizon Europe 2021 to 2027 programme.
Read the full announcement at Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · 25 September 2026
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions has published a document outlining the programme's support for cancer research within its 2021 to 2027 budget of 6.6 billion euros. The programme funds researcher-driven projects across all disciplines based on scientific excellence, meaning cancer-related proposals compete on equal terms with other fields. Doctoral and early-career researchers working in oncology or related biomedical areas may find this document a useful reference for understanding the scope of MSCA-funded activity in their field.
Read the full announcement at Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · 18 September 2026
A newly published document from Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions highlights that close to 500 MSCA projects under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe have addressed democracy-related topics, spanning areas such as civic participation, disinformation, polarisation, and trust in science. This breadth demonstrates that MSCA funding is not limited to natural sciences and extends robustly into social sciences, humanities, and policy-relevant research. Researchers working on governance, media, or political institutions can use this document to understand the existing landscape of MSCA-supported work in these areas.
Read the full announcement at Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions · 14 September 2026
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions is inviting MSCA fellows and alumni to apply to present their research at the Science is Wonderful! science fair, which will take place in Brussels in spring 2027 over three days. Participants design interactive booth activities or stage presentations for groups of school pupils aged roughly 7 to 18, with each group spending around 15 minutes at a booth. This is a concrete opportunity for early-career researchers to develop public engagement skills and communicate their doctoral or postdoctoral work to a broad, non-specialist audience.
Read the full announcement at Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Each item summarises an announcement published by the named European research body and links to the original source; the summaries are written by Clau and the announcements belong to their respective sources. Clau is a free companion for doctoral candidates and early-career researchers.