Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are not the right tool to address immediate skill shortages, say research organisations
Photo credits: Jorisvo / BigStock
European research organisations have sounded the alarm that the European Commission wants to take control of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCAs), which train young scientists, rather than letting academics set their own research priorities.
MSCAs fund doctoral and postdoctoral training networks, and are explicitly “bottom-up,” meaning that researchers propose which topics they should cover, rather than politicians.
But in recent months the Commission has proposed setting certain priorities, such as artificial intelligence, for some MSCA calls as it tries to use research funding to boost the EU’s economic performance.
“This is really opening Pandora’s Box,” said Marta Agostinho, executive director of EU-Life, an umbrella body of…
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