Have you considered conducting your research in one of the Polish institutions? If you are a last-year PhD candidate or postdoc, a great opportunity awaits you!
2026 and 2027 are key times for anyone interested in participating in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and other Horizon Europe instruments. The final calls for proposals for the 2026–2027 competitions are upon us, concluding the current Horizon Europe programme and guiding preparations for the next, 10th Framework Programme.
So far in Horizon Europe, the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are the most popular Action in terms of the number of applications submitted (17,058 applications in the 2025 call (European Commission, 2025)), allowing 27 researchers to conduct their outstanding and innovative research-training projects in Poland. You can join this excellent team!
Submitting your proposal for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 or 2027 call gives you three opportunities for funding:
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) – apply with a host organisation in Poland, be it a university, research institution, business, SME, or other entity. All disciplines are eligible for the Postdoctoral Fellowships, including research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme. Researchers interested in the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships:
-
- Should have a PhD degree at the time of the deadline for applications. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply.
- Must have a maximum of eight years’ experience in research, from the date of the award of their PhD degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks will not count towards the above maximum, nor will years of experience in research in third countries for nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to Europe.
- Should comply with mobility rules: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for the European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for the Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.
- When submitting your proposal for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 or 2027, you may agree for your proposal to take part in the ERA Fellowship calls. The scheme funds proposals submitted to the MSCA-PF-2026 or 2027 calls with a beneficiary located in a Widening Country (including Poland) and which failed to score high enough to receive funding under this call. All eligibility and admissibility rules applicable to the MSCA-PF-2026 call will apply here. The scheme is open to individual researchers of any nationality holding a PhD who wish to engage in R&I projects in a host institution located in a Widening Country from anywhere in the world.
- Seals of Excellence will be awarded to MSCA-PF-2026 / 2027 applications with a total score equal to or higher than 85%, but which cannot be funded due to a lack of budget available under the call. Holders of this Certificate, awarded jointly with a Polish institution, are eligible to receive funding under the Ulam NAWA Programme financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). NAWA recognises the Seal of Excellence certificate as a binding verification of the quality of the application. Financing under the Programme includes a monthly salary and living expenses for the duration of the scientific stay at a Polish Host Institution up to 24 months, as well as a mobility allowance.
We encourage reaching out to the Polish MSCA National Contact Point at NAWA or regional MSCA contact points in 6 Polish macroregions, which provide support in the MSCA PF application process!
Polish MSCA NCP in NAWA: msca@nawa.gov.pl
MSCA contact points in Polish macroregions:
Southeastern Poland – msca@pk.edu.pl
Southwestern Poland – msca4silesia@polsl.pl; msca4silesia@pwr.edu.pl
Central Poland – msca@pan.pl; msca@uni.lodz.pl
Western Poland – msca4wp@ppnt.poznan.pl; msca@zut.edu.pl
Eastern Poland – msca4east@pb.edu.pl; msca.lublin@umcs.pl; msca4east@umb.edu.pl
Northern Poland – msca.polnoc@umk.pl
References
- European Commission (2025). MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 received a record number of 17,058 proposals. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions. ec.europa.eu/news/msca-postdoctoral-fellowships-2025-proposals
