MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026

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MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 Internal selection process & guidance for applicants Research Strategy & Performance January 2026 | Updated 09 April 2026

The Research Strategy & Performance team would like to invite Expressions of Interest (EoI) from applicants wishing to apply to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme. This is a highly competitive scheme, with a lengthy application process. If you wish to apply, please submit an EoI no later than 6th May 2026. Please note that we cannot guarantee development support for notifications received after this date. Because of the high levels of interest in this scheme, and the specific eligibility requirements, we ask for EoIs which are considered by Heads of Department. If you don’t submit an EoI (which replicates the scheme requirements for application materials), you cannot be considered by King’s. Once you have submitted, your EoI will be assessed by the host department with members of the Research Strategy & Performance team; we will notify you of the outcome (whether King’s can support your application by 5th June 2026). MSCA PFs target researchers holding a PhD and with a maximum of 8 years full-time postdoctoral experience. The scheme is open to all domains of research and innovation, at all stages – from basic frontier research to near market uptake. Important note: this guidance and the internal deadline apply only to prospective candidates from the following Faculties: Arts & Humanities; Dickson Poon School of Law; King’s Business School; Social Science & Public Policy). Please note that for this round of the scheme the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy will support only European Fellowships. If you wish to apply via one of King’s other Faculties, please contact the relevant Research Development Manager (RDM); details can be found at the end of this guidance document.

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Overview The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fund supports excellent research and innovation and equips researchers at all stages of their career with new knowledge and skills, through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. The MSCA also funds the development of excellent doctoral and postdoctoral training programmes and collaborative research projects worldwide. By doing so, they achieve a structuring impact on higher education institutions, research centres and non-academic organisations. The objective of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (PFs) is to support research careers and foster excellence in research, by enhancing the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and who wish to diversify their individual competences and acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility, while implementing excellent research projects across all sectors of research. There are two types of Postdoctoral Fellowships: • European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12 and 24 months. • Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These fellowships require an outgoing phase of minimum 12 and maximum 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country. Please also carefully read the Guide for applicantsMSCA PF 2026.pdf. (Link updated 09 April 2026).

Assessment criteria Proposals will be evaluated by experts on the basis of the award criteria 'Excellence', 'Impact' and 'Quality and efficiency of the implementation'. The weighting is 50% Excellence, 30% Impact and 20% Quality, and each is marked out of 5. Proposals scoring equal to or above 70% will be considered for funding — within the limits of the available call budget.

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Process If you are interested in applying to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship and would like research development and costings support in the preparation of your application, please submit an EoI by no later than Friday 6th May 2026 (see details below). By this point, you should have already engaged the prospective KCL supervisor, and they should be familiar with the proposal and with the inputs they will need to provide to assist you in its competitiveness. You should also contact the relevant department/school and make sure that all local processes have been adhered to. (Though there is no limit to the number of applications the College will support, some departments might operate an internal triage to ensure quality and oversight of the applications.) Please note the deadline of 6th May 2026 is final and non-negotiable.

Expressions of Interest: what to include All candidates interested in applying via King’s should submit a formal Expression of Interest (EoI) by 6th May 2026. Expressions of interest should include: 1. A 2-page CV including selected publication list, please include (expected) PhD award date. 2. A Statement of eligibility including whether the European/Global fellowship is being applied for. Please refer in your statement to the eligibility criteria detailed in the Guide for applicantsMSCA PF 2026.pdf pp. 6-10. For Global Postdoctoral Fellowships only, also include who your associated partner for the outgoing phase of the project will be (if known). 3. A Personal statement (up to 1-page) covering key contributions to research, wider contributions to research community (supervision/mentoring, ED&I, public engagement, research culture etc.), choice of host environment (i.e., why King’s, why proposed supervisor), and training plans. If you already know that you want to do a non-academic placement and/or a secondment, please explain why and identify the host(s) (if known); or write ‘N/A’ if not applicable. (NB Placements and secondments are optional; applicants to the MSCA scheme are not penalised for not including a placement or secondment.) Include your future career plans and ambitions. 4. A 2-page Research proposal including: a. Excellence (up to 1-page) i. What are your project objectives?

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ii. How does the project go beyond the state of the art? iii. What is your methodology and how will it help you deliver your project objectives? b. Impact (up to ½ page) i. What skills do you want to develop? ii. How do you think your research and training activities will enhance your career prospects, whether inside or outside academia? iii. With which target groups will you communicate or engage about your project? iv. Which target groups (e.g., scientific community, end users, financial actors, public at large) would benefit from your project, and what kinds of impact are you hoping to make? c. Implementation (up to ½ page of A4) i. What are your key deliverables and milestones?

5. Email confirmation from KCL supervisor to confirm that they support the application and have seen and had appropriate input into the EOI being submitted and have planned the training and development activities required with the applicant.

Please complete all expression of interest materials as one PDF document, in Arial size 11 and then submit to susanna.cornick-willis@kcl.ac.uk by 6th May 2026. Please see the contact list at the end of this document for details of your Faculty’s Research Development Manager if you would like to discuss your EoI before submission.

Finances / Length of award Postdoctoral Fellowships typically offer funding for: • Living allowance • Mobility allowance

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• Family allowance (if applicable) • Research, training and networking costs • Management and indirect costs If you are selected to proceed to submission, the Pre-Award International team will provide you with an application pack containing detailed guidance which you must carefully read before finalising your application.

Internal selection process timeline The timeline for the application process is set out below. Date Action Notes 6th May 2026, 4pm Expression of Interest submission This deadline is final and non-negotiable.

Please also inform the relevant department/school and make sure that all local processes have been adhered to.

Please send your EoI to susanna.cornick-willis@kcl.ac.uk By 5th June 2026 Agreement of King’s support from HoD RDMs to consult with HoDs to confirm candidates that are ready and suitable to apply By 5th June 2026 Notify applicants of faculty decision

5th June – end August 2026 Application development; standard costings & Worktribe process Research Development Managers available to give feedback to applicants during development.

2nd September 2026 King’s internal submission deadline for applicants

9th September 2026, 5pm Brussels time External Funder Application Deadline

The Research Strategy & Development team ran an information session for applicants & mentors for the 2024 competition which will still be useful to recap on. The recording for the session can be

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found at this link: https://internal.kcl.ac.uk/innovation/strategy-development/research- development/events/workshops-training-events

Contact details Please contact your local RDM with any queries about the process above – details at the end of this document.

Useful links • MSCA website: Postdoctoral Fellowships - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions • MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Guide for Applicants • MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Application Form • Funding & Tender opportunities portal (includes useful FAQs and once the call opens will have all the relevant application and guidance links). • Postdoctoral Fellowships: 6 steps to prepare your application

Please note, these links have been updated on 09 April 2026, when the call opened.

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Research Development Managers Name Faculty/School Email Gil Toffell SSPP & Law Gilad.toffell@kcl.ac.uk Emma Jay A&H Emma.jay@kcl.ac.uk Sarah Evans KBS Sarah.l.evans@kcl.ac.uk Mike Ward NMES (Maths, Chemistry & Physics) Michael.ward@kcl.ac.uk Cecilia Rossiter NMES (Informatics & Engineering) Cecilia.rossiter@kcl.ac.uk Jack Matthews NMES (Net Zero Centre & Centre for the Physical Science of Life) Jack.matthews@kcl.ac.uk Nuria Andreu IoPPN Clarissa.edwards@kcl.ac.uk Nuria.andreu@kcl.ac.uk Greg Dow FoDOCS & FoLSM (Immunology & Microbial Sciences, Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Basic & Medical Biosciences) Greg.dow@kcl.ac.uk Sarah Davies NMPC & FoLSM (Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences, Life Course Sciences, Population Health & Environmental Sciences, Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences) Sarah.k.davies@kcl.ac.uk

These Faculties do not require the EoI stage of the submission but you should still discuss with your RDM as soon as possible. SSPP will only be supporting European Fellowships in 2026.

Research areas