Exciting Opportunity for Researchers and innovators: Explore Research Careers in the EU

Ednah Carrick June 27, 2025

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Closing Date: Ongoing

Exciting Opportunity for Researchers and innovators: Explore Research Careers in the EU

The EU needs scientists to find solutions to global challenges, strengthen its democracy, drive competitiveness and safeguard prosperity. But what do scientists need to build a sustainable career?

Researchers and innovators need:

Funding to transform ideas into tangible solutions
Services and guidance to build a long career
Skills and competences to increase excellence and move between jobs and sectors
Freedom to remain curious, explore and imagine progress

Explore Research Careers in the EU

The EU is home to more than 2.15 million researchers, one quarter of the world’s total. They help European Union to better understand the world around EU, take evidence-based decisions and drive progress.

Thanks to scientists in the EU and beyond, society is advancing and finding solutions to global challenges – from building resilience to natural disasters to finding cures for cancer and other diseases. Scientists strengthen democracy by providing the knowledge base for political decisions and facts to bolster society against disinformation and manipulation.

The EU also needs scientists and innovators to drive its competitiveness and safeguard its prosperity, leading to new businesses and high-quality jobs. This is why the EU places R&I at the heart of its economy

Supporting researchers at all stages of their careers

Offering funding opportunities

To transform an idea into a tangible solution, researchers need funding. Through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the EU’s reference funding programme for doctoral and postdoctoral training, researchers from all over the world get the support they need in all scientific domains and at all stages of their careers.

MSCA responds to Europe’s continuing need for a highly skilled and research-based human capital by offering training and encouraging geographical mobility as well as the exchange between sectors and disciplines.

Nobel Laureates such as Prof. Dr. Anne L’Huillier and Prof. Stefan W. Hell have acknowledged the positive impact MSCA had on their careers. The grant allowed them to kickstart or continue their research in critical moments.

EU funding is not only designed for individual researchers through the MSCA or the European Research Council. Teams of researchers from different countries or backgrounds can also apply for funding.

Check the available EU funding and grants managed by the European Research Executive Agency and visit the EU Funding and Tenders Portal for more.

Providing guidance for career development

Besides funding researchers and projects, the EU provides services for researchers and innovators who want to build a sustainable career.

With 43 European countries and nine worldwide hubs, EURAXESS is the largest pan-European initiative to connect top talent with research organisations, fostering researchers’ mobility and career development. Join the platform to discover job opportunities.

Investing in skills and competences

The European Commission invests in improving researchers’ skills through funding schemes such as the MSCA Doctoral Networks – i.e. programmes that train PhD candidates in academic and non-academic organisations, including industry and business. They offer research training but also help develop transversal skills and competences.

Pro tip: Scientists looking for a PhD position in one of the MSCA Doctoral Networks, can find open vacancies on EURAXESS.

Transferable skills for scientists

Transversal skills are versatile abilities like communication, problem-solving, teamwork and self-management that apply across various areas of life and work. Essential for personal growth, they are valuable in any job or sector – academia, industry, public administration and the non-profit sector.

Developing those skills, in addition to scientific competences, can increase excellence in research and boost the competitiveness and resilience of the European Research Area