On 7 November we celebrate 30 years of the European Union’s flagship programme for researcher training, mobility and career development. Over the last three decades, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have supported researchers at all career stages, from early-stage doctoral candidates to experienced postdoctoral researchers and research managers.
The programme is named after Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the trailblazing scientist. She is the only person in history to win a Nobel prize in two fields – chemistry and physics – and was a pioneer for women in science. The MSCA are celebrated every year on her birthday.
Dr Sabina Cvecek is one of over 150 000 researchers to have benefitted from the programme. Thanks to MSCA, she managed to build bridges between anthropology, archaeology and ancient DNA, challenging the idea that kinship is only about biology.
What began as a small fellowship scheme enabling a few hundred researchers per year to work abroad has grown exponentially. 25 Nobel Prize laureates have been involved in MSCA as fellows, supervisors or project coordinators and it now supports 8 000 researchers annually through
Beyond supporting individual researchers, the MSCA has increasingly focused on structural impact. From improving the quality of doctoral and postdoctoral training, to promoting attractive working conditions, to supporting gender equality.
To mark this important milestone, you can discover 88 inspiring stories behind the last 30 years. The stories are visually arranged to replicate the atomic structure of radium, one of the two elements discovered by Marie Skłodowska-Curie. Explore these pages to learn more about our remarkable journey, key highlights, and future opportunities.
For more information
