5 reasons (+1) why you should apply for a Marie Curie at Ca’ Foscari

A Marie Curie Fellowship can change your life. Every year, almost ten-thousand researchers from all over the world submit their research project to be conducted in a European university or during two years abroad, before coming back to the Old Continent. 
Ca’ Foscari is among the most sought-after host institutions in Europe and it can claim the largest italian community of alumni for this “researchers’ Erasmus”.

Why do so many people choose Ca’ Foscari? Here are 5 good reasons (plus one) to apply for a Marie Curie Fellowship at Ca’ Foscari.

1. Among the best in Europe

With 30 fellowships won in the 2020 call, Ca’ Foscari has not only bested its own record in Italy, but it has also managed to move up in European rankings, leaping to the 4th place,  sharing the spot with Cambridge (the call was launched in 2020, before Brexit was finalized), right after prestigious Universities such as Copenhagen, the Imperial College of London and Oxford and ahead of institutions like EPFL in Lausanne, the University of Oslo and the ETH in Zurich. We let numbers speak for themselves.

2. Make your experience last more with Marie Curie +1

Ca’ Foscari is the only European university where Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients can be offered a contract for an additional year, if they apply for an ERC grant or a Horizon 2020 project. This opportunity, which goes by the name of “Marie Curie +1” has been recognized as a best practice by the European Commission and truly makes a big difference.

3. Possibility of concrete academic career opportunities 

Ca’ Foscari was the first University to ever hire a researcher full time thanks to a Marie Curie Fellowship: a 2015 ministry decree stipulated the possibility of a “direct call” for those who carried out a three-year project funded as “Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship”. Valentina Bonifacio, Diego Calaon and Matteo Bertelè have been given the chance to develop their academic careers thanks to the Marie Curie.

4. A grant leads to another 

The experience of a Marie Curie inspires researchers and fosters the ideation of new research projects that can be used to apply for even more ambitious calls, like the ERC. The ERC grantees community at Ca’ Foscari is continuously growing and their stories bear testament to the crucial role of the Marie Curie in the development of a personal profile: Professors Sabrina Marchetti and Enrica de Cian both have Marie Curie Fellowships in their resume.

5. You’ll never be alone

With 114 alumni, the community of researchers who carried out a Marie Curie at Ca’ Foscari is the largest one in Italy.This set of unique experiences, contacts and skills makes Ca’ Foscari the ideal habitat for innovative and interdisciplinary projects. Ca' Foscari promotes and supports the Marie Curie Alumni Association international network, and was awarded by its President for its commitment to the career development of researchers.

6. First class support

Ca’ Foscari can claim a support team exclusively dedicated to Marie Curie candidates. The team follows the researchers through the whole planning phase, so they can help them perfect their proposal and increase the chances of actually seeing it realized. The results of this support initiative have been great.For the past few years, Ca’ Foscari Professors have also successfully acted as supervisors for many of the projects.The support doesn’t end once the Fellowship is won: Ca’ Foscari has received the Human Resources Strategy For Researchers (HRS4R) certification, attesting the great working conditions for all researchers employed at Ca’ Foscari.

The call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships will remain open from May 18th until September 15th, 2021. For more information, visit the dedicated page.
If you’d like to get more information, don’t miss the Infoday on the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships on May 18th, 2021.