Boost for Indian-EU research partnerships under new co-funding scheme within MSCA Staff Exchanges

The European Commission, the Delegation of the European Union to India and the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have started 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.

The CSIR will top up selected MSCA Staff Exchanges projects, enabling its institutes, laboratories and innovation units to carry out joint research projects with European and international partners. The co-funding will allow them to secondthey staff to European research organisations for training, skills and career development and knowledge sharing.

The scheme will promote mobility of researchers in both directions and create a balanced flow of exchanges. This will strengthen research ties between Europe and India and drive forward scientific and technological progress by enhancing long-term bilateral institutional cooperation and collaborative research. 

Funding for CSIR institutes and staff

Funding will cover the period from 2025 to 2027. It will be open to any CSIR entity applying to Staff Exchanges calls with an international consortium.

Consortia of organisations planning to apply to the next calls of Staff Exchanges are strongly encouraged to partner with CSIR entities for their proposals. Projects should build on previous work while also striving to generate or strengthen long-term collaborations.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the co-funding, projects should comply with Staff Exchange’s eligibility criteria and include at least one CSIR entity and staff member.

Besides submitting a proposal with an eligible consortium, participating CSIR entities will need to submit a proposal for co-funding via CSIR’s International Cooperation Management System. This will be evaluated independently by CSIR’s selection committee, who will decide on the shortlist of co-funded projects through its own criteria.

The full details and guidelines for applicants are available on CSIR’s website.

Attend the networking and brokerage event

If you are looking for new partners from CSIR or are preparing a proposal with other organisations interested in cooperating with India through Staff Exchanges, you can attend the online networking and brokerage event organised by Euraxess on 17 October 2024, 11.00-13.30 CEST /14.30-17.00 IST.

Register for the networking and brokerage event.  

The webinar is open to

• any representative of an academic or non-academic organisation that is seeking to enhance its innovation capacity through interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration with Indian partners
• permanent scientific or technical staff members of CSIR institutes and bodies

About CSIR

Founded in 1942, CSIR is India’s premier research and development organisation, comprising 38 national laboratories and a dedicated team of over 8,000 scientists. 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 Staff Exchanges

Through its Staff Exchanges scheme, the MSCA promote collaborative research, knowledge transfer and innovation through international, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary projects. Staff Exchanges support 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 calls of Staff Exchanges will open on

• 2024 call: 19 September 2024, with a deadline on 5 February 2025
• 2025 call: 27 March 2025, with a deadline on 8 October 2025