
The European Union (EU) hosted a webinar on doctoral education and post-doctoral training in Europe on August 28, 2021. This webinar highlighted the available funding opportunities for graduates and researchers of any nationality.

“We have a long-term commitment to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN in the field of education, in particular, by providing various scholarship opportunities for doctoral programmes. These opportunities are not only open for study but also to conduct research in Europe,” said EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans. One of the EU’s flagship funding programmes for higher education is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The MSCA funds excellent research and innovation and equip researchers at all stages of their career with new knowledge and skills, through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. The MSCA also funds the development of excellent doctoral and postdoctoral training programmes and collaborative research projects worldwide.
“The MSCA offers funding for PhD students to carry out their doctoral research in doctoral training programmes across Europe for up to four years. Out of 1,707 research fields, there are five research fields that are currently trending namely Engineering, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Physics and Medical Sciences,” said EURAXESS Worldwide Regional Coordinator Dr Susanne Rentzow-Vasu.

The webinar also featured a panel of Indonesian speakers who shared their stories, tips and advice for securing MSCA funding and fostering professional growth. The speakers included: Ervina, a PhD candidate and MSCA scholar based in Norway; Gilang Hamidy, a PhD student at KU Leuven, Belgium; and Martina Sinta Kristanti, a PhD lecturer at the Department of Nursing at Gadjah Mada University and alumna of Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.