Our 3 key lessons learned for the MSCA-DN

In the fall of this year, PNO had the great opportunity to collaborate with two excellent consortia and submitted two high quality proposals in November for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks, part of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. During this time, we supported two different types of doctoral networks (DN), one standard DN and one industrial DN.

“The results will be made known in April 2023, so until then we have our fingers crossed for positive results. In the meantime we look back at the proposal development stage and selected our three key lessons learned for the MSCA-DN.” – Rilana Huiberts, MSc, Consultant at PNO Life Sciences & Health

About doctoral networks

The doctoral networks are projects that have as their goal to train a maximum of 10-15 doctoral candidates (PhD students) per project. The result is a next generation of scientists in their field that can solve future challenges, increase scientific impact and to improve their career prospects inside and outside of academia. The training is achieved through their individual research projects at their host facility, supported by secondment(s) at a different facility and training schools.

Difference between standard and industrial DN

In the standard DN, most of the candidates’ time is spend in academia, while for the industrial DN at least half of the candidate’s time is spent in industry, next to academia, and will have two host facilities. The secondments are selected and tailored for each student to learn complementary skills. The trainings schools (typically 3 or 4) are organized during the 3-year duration of the PhD and will compose of a research part, from introduction to advanced courses and workshops, and a transferable skill part.

3 key lessons learned

The results will be made known in April 2023. In the meantime we look back at the proposal development stage and selected our three key lessons learned for the MSCA-DN:

1. As you all know, start on time. Preferably, come 4 months in advance to PNO. So:
   1. We can reserve capacity for you with our consultants that have expertise in the MSCA-DN programme, and
   2. This will give time for the consortium to get the needed partners on board, align on the scientific content and have several iterations before finalization.
2. Keep in mind that the training of the candidates consists of a substantial part of the project. Meaning that the research serves the training, and this should be reflected in the main challenges of the project.
3. Focus on the individual research projects of the candidates as they will be the foundation of the work packages.

Looking for partners for your consortium?

Would you like advice about your proposal or are you looking for partners to build a high quality consortium? Please contact us by using the form below or browse through our services to see what we can help with. Our consultants are always happy to assist you.

* Formerly known as ttopstart, a separate Life Sciences & Health consultancy. The company has since fully integrated into PNO Innovation and no longer operates under the ttopstart name. For more information, see the press release “We continue as PNO Innovation.”