Marie Curie: Ca' Foscari among the top host institutions in Italy & Europe

Ca’ Foscari has yet again confirmed its reputation as an outstanding international research hub, gathering brilliant scholars from all over the world. Bested only by Copenhagen, Cambridge and Oxford and achieving a tie with Aarhus, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice has placed fourth in the European ranking for Marie Curie Fellowships received. With 23 grants received, the total funding for Ca’ Foscari, the only Italian institution in the European top 10, will amount to 5,2 million euros. 

"We’re very proud of this extraordinary  result - commented Rector Michele Bugliesi - Thanks to the Marie Curie funds, our university will have the pleasure to welcome 23 new researchers who have chosen Venice to develop their scientific projects. These new valuable additions will help us grow our international community, opening new frontiers and research opportunities. This achievement is a reward to the quality of our research, proving that we can attract brilliant minds and be in the same league as the best universities in Europe."

The sheer numbers are more than enough to give an idea of the international dimension of this achievement. Thanks to these Individual Fellowships, named after the first woman to ever win a Nobel prize, the Venetian university has drawn in researchers from 10 different countries, 18 coming from foreign institutions and 14 will carry out their research project in partnership with prestigious universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Princeton. Canada, Australia, Morocco and Lebanon will also be involved in mobility projects.
The scholars, who had to undergo a rigorous selection process, will deal with very current topics such as sustainable development, tourism, migration, identity and religious conflicts.    

Ca’ Foscari’s international community of bright researchers keeps growing: the 23 Marie Curie Individual Fellowships announced today will join the 64 from previous years, reaching an impressive grand total of 87. 

Ca’ Foscari also also bested its own record of 20 fellowships, awarded in 2019. This year’s results could still be further improved, as many more projects have received excellent scores and are now waiting to be approved during the course of the year, should more resources be allocated.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships aim to support the career development and training of the recipients in all scientific disciplines, through international and intersectoral mobility, making it a sort of 'Erasmus' for researchers. These grants, named after the first woman to ever receive a Nobel prize, provide an extremely enriching experience, that enhance the career perspectives for researchers.