Getting ready for MSCA PF with UM

The University of Maribor (UM) shall be delighted to support the postdoctoral researchers wishing to apply for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships. The expected publication date of the call is 9 April 2026, with a submission deadline of 9 September 2026.

We welcome collaboration with postdoctoral candidates who have a strong publication record and a complementary research agenda in the following faculties of the University of Maribor:

• Faculty of Tourism (Brežice);
• Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture (Maribor);
• Faculty of Arts (Maribor);
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Maribor);
• Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Hoče);
• Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (Maribor).

Please find the enclosed complete list of foreseen research MSCA keywords, supervisors, and e-mail addresses.

Candidates who have not identified a suitable supervisor or faculty on the list are warmly encouraged to contact us at euraxess.um@um.si for further guidance and support. 

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships offer the successful applicants on the abovementioned call a full-time contract to work on a research project and enjoy advanced training. The MSCA PF programme provides a competitive salary, mobility and family allowances plus a budget for research and training costs. 

REQUIREMENTS

•  Experience:  

• Supported fellows must be postdoctoral researchers at the date of the call deadline, i.e. in a possession of a doctoral degree. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to apply. The successful defence must be unconditional (no further requirements/corrections that need to be addressed) and take place before the call deadline. Supporting documentation may be requested. 
• At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the doctoral degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to parental leave), will not count towards the amount of research experience. For nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to pursue their research career in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, years of experience in research in third countries will not be considered in the above maximum (MSCA-PF: Self-assessment tool for the calculation of the 8-years research experience). 
• Proposals involving the same recruiting organisation (and for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships also the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase) and individual researcher submitted to the previous call of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe and having received a score of less than 80% must not be resubmitted
  the following year.

• Mobility rule:  

• Recruited researchers must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline. 

HOW TO: please, find the attached form »2026-UM MSCA PF Project pre-proposal form« structured to present the postdoctoral researcher and the project idea. Filled, and completed forms with all enclosures necessary, are to be submitted as one PDF file attachment to the supervisor's e-mail address, cc: euraxess.um@um.si.  

For more information on particular projects ideas, please address the supervisors to e-mails listed in the documents, cc: euraxess.um@um.si. 

Candidates will be informed about the selection results by 11 May 2026. The University of Maribor supervisors and support staff will support the selected candidates to prepare applications to the HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF-01-01 call through online preparation workshops with the National Delegate and Contact Point for Horizon Europe MSCA at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia and continuous guidance until the submission deadline.  

Postdoctoral candidates who, along with their University of Maribor supervisors, express their interest by 17 April 2026, 12.00 (GMT+1) will have the opportunity to participate in an online professional support program designed to enhance their project proposals. This program includes intensive workshops, individual consultations, and additional support activities as listed bellow:

• 22 May 2026 between 10:00 and 14:00

Preparations for a successful application to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 (MSCA-PF-2025) Call

Online Coaching Sessions in English (MS Teams)

Dr Stojan Sorčan, National Delegate and Contact Point for Horizon Europe MSCA at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

Maja Peharc, National Contact Point for Open Science Support at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia.

Dr Gita Zadnikar, Science Sector, Directorate for Science and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia.

The training includes MSCA key topics, evaluation process, feedback, step-by-step guidance through evaluation criteria, and drafted proposals. Apply at the following link.

• approx. 29 May 2025 between 9:00 and 14:00 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship Course

Online Coaching Sessions in English (MS Teams)

The workshop will provides early-career researchers with the information they need to write grant proposals for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships. You will learn how to emphasise the aspects of your own past and future career development, in order to show that the fellowship will add value to your career, that you will contribute to the work of your host lab and that you are the right person to deliver the impact promised by your research.

More information and application link to the workshop will be available soon.

• April - September 2026 

Online sessions in English upon request 

Ongoing support of the Department for Research and Arts of the University of Maribor and the National Delegate and Contact Point for Horizon Europe MSCA.