The EU needs scientists
The EU is home to more than 2.15 million researchers, one quarter of the world’s total. They help us to better understand the world around us, 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 our 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.
"Every €1 invested in Horizon Europe will generate up to €11 in economic gains by 2045."
Mid-term evaluation of the EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation
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, expert career guidance and free tools to enhance your skills.
The Research and Innovation Careers Observatory can help you learn the latest trends in research and innovation – researchers’ skills, training, career opportunities and mobility – in the EU and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
The ERA Talent Platform is your next stop if you want to discover more about pensions rights, skills and competences. The Platform also facilitates collaboration between industry and academia so that early-career researchers acquire the skills companies need.
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.
Further building researchers’ skills
To guide researchers, universities and policymakers, the European Commission has developed the European Research Competence Framework (ResearchComp). The tool can help identify skill gaps and supports universities in designing better training programmes for researchers.
The EU-backed DocEnhance project developed a set of open online courses for PhD students to improve their interdisciplinary skills such as communication, negotiation, career management and entrepreneurship skills.
Discover more EU-funded projects contributing to skills development.
A home for science
Freedom is one of the EU’s core values. In science, freedom allows the development of great ideas in a multitude of areas and empowers brilliant minds to advance societal progress without boundaries. That is why, one of the EU’s priorities is to ensure that science in Europe remains open and free.
"We want to enshrine freedom of scientific research into law in a new European Research Area Act. Because as threats rise across the world, Europe will not compromise on its principles. Europe must remain the home of academic and scientific freedom."
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission at the ‘Choose Europe for Science’ event.
Choose Europe for science
The EU invites researchers from all over the world to follow in the footsteps of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Albert Einstein and Galileo Galilei, and advance their careers in Europe: Choose Europe for science - here is all you need to know about arriving, working and living in the EU.
Get inspired by US researcher Andrew M. Liebhold's experience in the Czech University of Life Sciences:
The European Commission strives to further improve working conditions for scientists in Europe by advancing the European Research Area (ERA) and creating a unified research and innovation market.
The new ERA Policy Agenda for 2025-2027 seeks to make research careers more attractive, inclusive, and sustainable through better working conditions, increased mobility, and clearer recognition of diverse research roles and skills.
Key measures include:
- Updating the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers to support fair hiring and work-life balance
- Improving access to social protection and pension portability, and
- Easing transitions between academia, industry and public sectors.