UNIPI Initiatives for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF)

Support to develop winning proposals

Each year, the Research Development Unit of the University of Pisa provides a structured and comprehensive support pathway for early-career researchers interested in submitting an MSCA-PF proposal with our University as the Host Institution, as well as for UNIPI faculty members applying as Supervisors.

For the 2026 call, the support service provided by the Research Development Unit is structured as follows:

• 15 April 2026 – National event with APRE (National Contact Point for Horizon Europe):
  “How to write a successful MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships proposal in Horizon Europe”.
  A practical guide to guide you in preparing your application, with useful tips and strategic indications directly from the experts.
• 9 June 2026, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – Research Development Unit.
  “Proposal template: Part A and Part B1 – Chapter 1: Excellence”
• 12 June 2026, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – Research Development Unit.
  “Proposal template: Part B1 – Chapter 2: Impact, Chapter 3: Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation and Part B2”
• 24 June, 2026 – MSCA-PF Day “Meet Your Mentor” – Hybrid event, jointly organized by the University of Pisa (UNIPI), the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA), and the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS), designed to provide personalized guidance, direct interaction, and practical support in preparing a competitive proposal.

Revision of proposals: Candidates identified and communicated to progettazione.ricerca@unipi.it as of 22/05/2026, will submit their complete proposals (print-out of Part A, Part B1 and Part B2, all sections) to progettazione.ricerca@unipi.it by 13/07/2026. The Research Development Unit will conduct one revision and will provide feedback to individual candidates by 02/09/2026.

Please note: due to the high number of MSCA-PF 2026 applications, the individual proposal revision service is not available for the resubmission of MSCA-PF proposals that obtained the Seal of Excellence in the 2025 call and will be resubmitted in the 2026 call.

The MSCA-PF support activities for 2026 include: the publication of the UNIPI’s hosting offers on EURAXESS and on the UNIPI website; the organization of online training and information events; the creation of an operational toolkit to guide applicants in drafting their proposals, with updated materials and practical tools; and a possible cycle of personalized proposal reviews.

UNIPI Hosting offers on EURAXESS

Support for MSCA-Seal of Excellence (SoE) winners

With Rectoral Decree n. 482/2026, the University of Pisa has launched MSCA Seal of Excellence @UNIPI 2026 – Call for applications to attract young researchers to carry out research projects of a high international standard.

MSCA Seal of Excellence @UNIPI 2026 is aimed at researchers, of any nationality, who have:

• submitted a project proposal under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) 2025 call,
• indicated UNIPI as a beneficiary,
• received the “Seal of Excellence (SoE) – MSC Actions” from the European Commission, by having obtained a score of at least 85/100, despite not having been funded due to budget constraints.

The University will award up to five two-year post-doc fellowships to as many SoE holders with an annual amount of 40,000 Euro, and will allocate additional 10,000 Euro to the structure hosting the fellowship, as budget to start the project.

Results of the evaluation procedure  

The outcomes of the evaluation procedure of the applications received in response to the call have been published with management directive n. 958/2026.  

Ranking of the applications:

* On the basis of the ex aequo criteria described in Art. 4.2  

Further instructions will be issued regarding the procedures for the acceptance of the funding by candidates duly ranked on the list, as well as any procedures related to the possible exhaustion (or progression) of the ranking.

Call and documents

• Call
• Attachment 1 – template
• Attachment 2 – template