Imperial recognised as a leading host for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

Imperial College London has been confirmed as one of Europe’s leading host institutions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships, following the publication of the 2025 European Fellowship results.

The 2025 call was an exceptionally competitive year across Europe, with a significant increase in applications and many proposals receiving very strong evaluations. The scale of interest in the scheme reflects its international reputation as one of the most prestigious and demanding funding routes available to early-career researchers. 

Imperial congratulates all researchers who applied and chose Imperial as their host institution, recognising the excellence and ambition, as well as the huge effort demonstrated across our community. Many applicants across Europe received outstanding scores in a particularly challenging funding landscape, underlining the depth of research talent engaged with the programme. 

Imperial is named as host institution on 43 successful MSCA European Fellowship proposals in the 2025 call and recognises the researchers and Imperial PIs involved in those outcomes. Across Europe, 1,610 fellowships were awarded. These results place Imperial among the leading European hosts for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships. 

Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial, said: 

“MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are among the most competitive awards available to early-career researchers internationally. They attract the best talent, and early careers researchers committed to developing international research profiles. This year’s results reflect both the strength of researchers choosing Imperial as their host and the quality of Imperial’s research environment. Science is a global endeavour and we are proud to be the host of choice for the next generation of research leaders.” 

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support international mobility, research independence and career development. Fellows undertake ambitious research projects while strengthening global collaboration and building long-term academic partnerships. For host institutions, participation in the scheme signals the strength of the research environment and the ability to support researchers at a critical career stage. 

The 43 successful proposals associated with Imperial span a wide range of disciplines, reflecting the university’s interdisciplinary research strengths. Projects address challenges across engineering, physical sciences, health, climate and sustainability, data science and societal impact. This breadth highlights Imperial’s capacity to host diverse research agendas within a collaborative and internationally connected environment. 

The strength of Imperial’s MSCA community was also reflected recently during a visit from the European Research Executive Agency (REA), which oversees the administration of the MSCA programme. Fellows from Imperial’s 2024 cohort delivered short presentations introducing themselves and their research projects, showcasing the diversity and ambition of work being undertaken across disciplines. 

REA provided positive feedback on the quality of research and the strength of Imperial’s hosting environment. Bringing together a large MSCA cohort also created valuable opportunities for peer connection across departments and faculties, demonstrating the benefits of convening this community within a large and diverse institution. 

Imperial’s engagement with the MSCA scheme forms part of its wider commitment to fostering a supportive and ambitious research culture. Alongside celebrating successful outcomes, the university continues to support early-career researchers in developing competitive proposals and building sustainable research careers. 

We look forward to welcoming our new MSCA Fellows to Imperial, with a commitment to continue to support its MSCA community within a strong and connected research environment.