On 24 September 2026, MSCA-GLOPOL organised the event “Exchange of Experiences in MSCA Institutional Projects: Towards Stronger Brazilian Participation” at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Rio de Janeiro, as a side event of the 3rd Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) Brazil-Europe Workshop (BREUW), marking the 30th anniversary of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Organised in cooperation with the MCAA Brazil Chapter, EURAXESS Latin America and the Caribbean, Fiocruz and the Brazilian National Council of State Research Funding Agencies (CONFAP), the hybrid event brought together around 40 participants, both onsite and online, including MSCA alumni, researchers, institutional project managers, research support professionals and funding agencies.
The event featured three testimonials highlighting practical experiences with MSCA Staff Exchanges (Observatório Nacional, OCEANS project), a Global Postdoctoral Fellowship hosted in Manaus (ISGlobal, Fiocruz Amazônia and Fundação de Medicina Tropical), and a Doctoral Network that recently awarded a triple PhD degree (FGV Direito Rio, GEM-DIAMOND). These were followed by an open discussion on challenges, success factors and good practices for Brazilian institutional participation in MSCA.
Participants highlighted the importance of preparing proposals well in advance, exploring exceptional European Commission funding where the Brazilian contribution is essential, and anticipating administrative challenges related to visas, ethics approvals and project management. MSCA-GLOPOL also presented the opportunities available to Brazilian institutions across the different MSCA actions. CONFAP introduced the co-funding mechanism offered through Brazil’s State Research Funding Agencies (FAPs) for Staff Exchanges and announced plans for a forthcoming co-funding call for Doctoral Networks.
The discussions, together with the results of the MSCA-GLOPOL/CONFAP mapping questionnaire, will contribute to recommendations aimed at addressing participation barriers and strengthening Brazilian engagement in MSCA.
The presentations delivered were:
- Charlotte Grawitz (MSCA-GLOPOL): MSCA Institutional Opportunities for Brazilian Institutions
- Marcelo Borges Fernandes (Observatório Nacional): MSCA Staff Exchanges – OCEANS Project
- Andrea Alemany (ISGlobal / Fiocruz Amazônia): MSCA Global Postdoctoral Fellowship – RISE-ARBB Project
- Maria Zaira Turchi (CONFAP): Co-funding Opportunities for MSCA Projects in Brazil
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