At SACSIS we continue working to help the research community in our country, and that’s why we have created the first Specialized Course on Marie Sklodowsca Curie Actions (MSCA):
In this course, you will learn the keys to success in this type of grant, and we will see how to write each of the sections step by step.
Take a look at the index of the SPECIALIZED COURSE ON MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE ACTIONS
One of the main problems we encounter when deciding to apply for one of these MSCA grants is that it is not very clear what is required in the different sections and it seems that many of them are repeated (but they are not).
Apart from the difficulty of writing the research project itself, the MSCA actions have other sections that present challenges and a guide is needed to help fit all the sections correctly.
This course has been specifically designed for all those researchers who want to obtain a postdoctoral fellowship under the MSCA program.
Module 1: Preparation
Unit 1: How to choose the best MSCA scheme
- European MSCA
- Global MSCA
- Selection criteria and eligibility
- How to choose the right Panel
- The 8 key factors of the host group
- The 5 fundamental steps to choose the best host group for your MSCA
- Frequently Asked Questions
Unit 2: Preparation before writing the MSCA: From idea to project
- Concept, objectives, and work plan
- How to do a good brainstorming
- Changing mindset and perspective for the MSCA
- Mind maps and useful tools
- Innovation for your community
- The 5 essential factors to self-evaluate a good MSCA project
Unit 3: How to access the participant portal
- Access to the F&T portal
- Access to part A and completion
- The importance of choosing the right keywords to describe your work
- Access to part B and important documents
Module 2: How to write the Excellence section
Unit 1: Preliminary
- The importance of good communication
- Proposal format and section length analysis
Unit 2: How to write a good Summary (even if it does not appear in the template)
- Articles vs Grants
- The reviewer is your friend
- Active voice vs Passive voice
- The essential elements of a good summary
- The importance of “storytelling” and the “elevator pitch”
- Examples of funded MSCA proposals
Unit 3: How to write the Excellence section
- Your reviewers do not see the importance
- Providing meaning
- Quality and pertinence of the project’s research and innovation objective
- Introduction
- What it is NOT
- Pillars
- Practical advice
- Writing the objectives
- Guide to writing objectives
- SMART objectives
- The importance of innovation
- Methodology
- Writing the methodology
- How to integrate methods and disciplines
- The importance of the Gender Dimension
- How to fit your proposal into Open Science practices
- Do not forget Data Management
- Quality of the supervision, training, and of the two-way transfer of knowledge
- Introduction
- Key factors of the Supervisor
- Quality of HostingIntegration in the trinomial
- Formal vs transversal knowledge
- B1.3 vs B2.1, but isn’t it the same?
- Quality and appropriateness of the researcher’s professional experience, competences, and skills
- Introduction
- How to tell your story well
Final: Analysis of the main criticisms received by reviewers
Module 3. How to write the Impact section
Unit 1: Increasing human and research potential (measures to enhance the career perspectives and employability of the researcher)
- Introduction
- Methodology to write section 2.1: The 3-step formula
- Examples of proposals
Unit 2: Communication and dissemination in your MSCA (quality of the measures to maximize expected outcomes and impacts)
- Introduction: Know your audience
- Examples of proposals
- 15 essential activities to include in the outreach section
Unit 3: Impacts on your MSCA (project’s contribution to the expected scientific, societal, and economic impacts)
- How to differentiate the impact of your project
- Increasing vs Decreasing impacts
- Examples of proposals.
Final: Analysis of the main criticisms of the reviewers in Impact
Module 4. How to write the Implementation section
Unit 1: Coherence of the work plan (Quality and effectiveness of the work plan)
- Introduction: The two possible situations
- Basic definitions
- Methodology to write section 3.1: the 3 fundamental factors
- Risk management in MSCA
- Examples of proposals
Unit 2: Institutional description and appropriate management structures (Quality and capacity of the host institutions)
- Introduction
- What is the hosting arrangement?
- Management and organization structures in MSCA
- Workflow and writing
- Seeking balance
- Examples of proposals
- Tools for making Gantt charts
Final: Analysis of the main criticisms of the reviewers in Implementation
Module 5. How to write the CV section
- Introduction: Why is the MSCA CV unique?
- How do I speak, in first or third person?
- Types of CV
- The 5 indispensable factors in your MSCA CV
- Optimal structure of an MSCA CV
- First page: The importance of this page
- Remaining Pages: The essential sections to cover
Module 6. How to write the Capacity section
- Introduction
- Section balance
- Point by point description
Module 7. How to write the Ethics section
- Introduction
- European ethical codes
- European animal experimentation ethical code
- European human experimentation ethical code
- The two situations
- The 6 types of experimentation with ethical aspects to consider
- Preparing the ethics section
- Useful resources
- Animal experimentation
- Examples
- Human experimentation
- Examples
- Animal experimentation
- Experimentation with Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs)
And you will also receive the following extra bonuses:
Complete proposal for Marie Curie Global Fellowship
Complete proposal for Marie Curie European Fellowship
MASTERMIND MSCA group with 6 exclusive seminars
Access to the private MSCA Q&A community (24h, 365 days)
Read these testimonials:
The methodology of the Specialized MSCA Course works and many researchers are already enjoying their MSCA. We want you to be the next researcher with a postdoctoral Marie Curie MSCA fellowship.
Miguel Servet. INIBIC
“Good morning David, I got the Marie Curie!!! I received the notification yesterday! I am very happy! Thank you so much for your help!”
Fernando Torres Andon
Prof. Univ. Valencia
“Hi David, I just received the response and it was positive, that is, I have been awarded the Marie Curie! Finally, the evaluation score was 95.5. I wanted to thank you for your advice and review, as I am convinced it was of great help for this magnificent result. A hug" Noelia Ibañez
Prof. Univ. Leiden
“As you probably know, we have already received the resolution and I have been awarded the MSCA-IF! And with a score of 14.9 out of 15. I can only THANK SACSIS support, and yours in particular, and encourage you to continue providing support to researchers from different fronts (time management, funding applications, etc.).” Laura Llorente Rodríguez
R&C Univ. Alcalá
“As you probably know, we have already received the resolution and I have been awarded the MSCA-IF! And with a score of 14.9 out of 15. I can only THANK SACSIS support, and yours in particular, and encourage you to continue providing support to researchers from different fronts (time management, funding applications, etc.).” Laura Llorente Rodríguez
Ángeles García
"Good morning David, Yesterday I got the news. I did it! The evaluation was very positive: 94.6. Thank you for your service and for your support. A hug"
Carmen Barba
"My project has been selected. My proposal ranked 46th out of 136 selected projects and out of 739 submitted! I am happy. Thanks for your advice. As I already mentioned to you, it helped me a lot to have a deadline and I also felt confident seeing a proposal that had been positively evaluated (yours). Greetings from Dijon!"
We are also very proud to have two unicorns! Yes, at SACSIS we affectionately call "unicorns" the proposals that have scored 100 points out of 100 in the final evaluation:
With the total guarantee of SACSIS
We are so confident that you will find what you need in the Specialized MSCA Course that we guarantee a 100% refund of your money.
If after applying our methodology your MSCA proposal does not score at least 70 points, we will refund your money, no questions asked.
