If you are a postdoctoral researcher in environmental sciences looking for your next career move, then this might be the opportunity you were looking for.

The recently announced, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA – PF) 2021 call, funds researchers looking to enhance their career by gaining experience abroad.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA – PF) fund researchers looking to enhance their career by gaining experience abroad. The Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C), based at the Cyprus Institute, is a Regional Center of Excellence dedicated to the research and solution of the effects of environmental and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region, a global climate change and air pollution “hotspot”.

By applying for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship at CARE-C, you will have the opportunity to work alongside world-renowned scientists, contributing to pioneering research aiming to find tangible solutions to urgent regional challenges.  You will be able to leverage a first class research environment with unique infrastructures, while benefitting from the Center’s expert proposal writing resources.  CARE-C also boasts a prestigious network of EU Advanced Partners including the University of Helsinki (UHEL), the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC), and Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA).

Application Information

Who is this call for?

• Researchers from across the world.
• Applicants 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 MSCA-PF programme mobility rules: applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline

What can be funded?

MSCA funds all research areas. We specifically invite applications relating to CARE-C’s areas of focus in climate and atmosphere research for the EMME region. Relevant activities could include laboratory studies, instrument development, continuous comprehensive measurements, field experiments and computer modelling of the regional atmospheric environment and climate change impacts.

For more information on CARE-C’s research areas please have a look at our Departments and Infrastructures.  

Types of Fellowships offered by MSCA

European Postdoctoral Fellowships. 

• Open to researchers moving within Europe or coming to Europe from another part of the world to pursue their research career
• They take place in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country
• Can last between 1 and 2 years
• Researchers of any nationality can apply

Global Postdoctoral Fellowships. 

• They fund the mobility of researchers outside Europe
• Last between 2 to 3 years, of which the first 1 to 2 years will be spent in a non-associated Third Country, followed by a mandatory return phase of 1 year to an organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country
• Only nationals or long-term residents of the EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries can apply

Both types of Fellowship can also include a secondment period of up to three or six months in another organisation in Europe.

In an effort to build bridges between the academic and non-academic sector, researchers can receive additional support to carry out a placement of up to 6 months in a non-academic organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. This placement needs to take place at the end of their fellowship.

Application steps and timelines

Eligibility checks and finding a supervisor
The CARE-C Research Innovation Support team (RISO) can help you with verifying your eligibility and finding a CARE-C affiliated supervisor. Contact us at coordination.care-c@cyi.ac.cy 

Draft proposal writing
When: June-August 2021
Applicants write their proposal with input and support from their supervisor and the RISO team.

Feedback on the proposal
When: in September 2021
Applicants should send their draft proposal (at least 80% completed) to the RISO team for feedback.

Final application submission
When: October 2021

For more information about how to submit your application visit the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships webpage or contact us at coordination.care-c@cyi.ac.cy

About the Cyprus Institute

The Cyprus Institute (CyI) is a science and technology research and postgraduate education organization. It is guided by a renowned international board of trustees and funded partly by the Cypriot government. In the past decade, CyI has become a national competence centre in atmospheric and climate research. It gained international recognition for its regional climate change studies and has established experimental facilities that are unique in the region (for example for the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory which provides high-quality long-term atmospheric observations that are currently missing in the EMME region). Pioneering research conducted by CyI has already clearly demonstrated that the Eastern Mediterranean Middle East (EMME) region is a climate change “hotspot” and has assessed the impact of climate change on public health, ecosystem development, water availability and other sectors.

Find out more about CyI at cyi.ac.cy

Contact us

For more information about doing an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship at CARE-C, to discuss a prospective application or for any questions,
please email coordination.care-c@cyi.ac.cy