2020 Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020)

[AndyC]

So guys,

Today i went to the twitter account of " MSCAactions @MSCActions". And i checked the liked twits of this account.
This account liked a twit of YESTERDAY which is written " Kicking off the new year with some exciting news! I am delighted to join
XXX as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow - YES I got it @MSCActions bla bla bla". So i thought she might be the suspicious winner of yesterday. (Because they mentioned that project was on law and this one is also)

Luckily, she also mentioned the project name in her twit too. So i checked and i realized she was a winner of 2019. So IMO, there is no results out and since the status change is not happening, we will get the results quite close to 9th february.

I did my best stalking :I

Your stalking skills are over 9000

Hahahahah by that time you should know her shoe size

[trina_80]

I first want to say that I agree that the way to get an MSCA is to work to the form expected - the technicalities and what they are looking for (knowledge exchange, training, appropriate supervisor, good Gantt Chart etc.) are all very important. But when we talk about "luck" we are talking about the attitude of the reviewer to the work that you are proposing. Sometimes they just don't like what you do.

Last year I resubmitted an improved version of a project that had been on the waitlist the year before. My implementation and impact sections went up. But my score for the "excellence" section went down (by over a point), and the things that they picked on -- which are central to my project -- were there the previous year. And the section was definitely improved on the previous year. So this is where we talk of "luck" in terms of the review process.

FWIW, I addressed some of the review comments from last year. But at the advice of my supervisor, who has had multiple MSCA fellows, I didn't tear it up too much. We will just hope the reviewers have an opinion to it closer to the first time I submitted, and that the highly polished technical elements help to support me.

There are also comments that get put into these reviews that just feel random. Like justifying how you will get office space, even when you already say this.

The point has been made before, but probably almost everyone who is here wrote a program that is worthy of funding and they would do a great job with their project. So the reviewers are looking for negatives. I think that it is important to prepare yourself for this and the fact that academia includes debates about what the next new thing might be, and sometimes you fall on the wrong side of this for someone.

That's true. I attended a MSCA training seminar and they invited an evaluator from the previous year. He said bluntly that he usually decided if he "liked" the project or not and if it was worthy of being financed or not just from reading the abstract. Which was borderline offensive.
So I completely agree that luck does play a big role in the selection process and that it mostly has to do with landing the right evaluators for that particular project. I just believe that it’s a bit much to blame it all on good / bad luck, as some have suggested.

[lifmc2020]

So guys,

Today i went to the twitter account of " MSCAactions @MSCActions". And i checked the liked twits of this account.
This account liked a twit of YESTERDAY which is written " Kicking off the new year with some exciting news! I am delighted to join
XXX as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow - YES I got it @MSCActions bla bla bla". So i thought she might be the suspicious winner of yesterday. (Because they mentioned that project was on law and this one is also)

Luckily, she also mentioned the project name in her twit too. So i checked and i realized she was a winner of 2019. So IMO, there is no results out and since the status change is not happening, we will get the results quite close to 9th february.

I did my best stalking :I

your investigation skills at 100%! I still think we will get before the 4th of feb given that net mobility seminar for grant preparation someone posted...

[PetetheCat]

I first want to say . . . . sometimes you fall on the wrong side of this for someone.

That's true. I attended a MSCA training seminar and they invited an evaluator from the previous year. He said bluntly that he usually decided if he "liked" the project or not and if it was worthy of being financed or not just from reading the abstract. Which was borderline offensive.
So I completely agree that luck does play a big role in the selection process and that it mostly has to do with landing the right evaluators for that particular project. I just believe that it’s a bit much to blame it all on good / bad luck, as some have suggested.

That's true, it isn't just luck. And it really matters to pay attention to the requirements of the MSCA. The first time I was reviewed there were a couple of stupid comments, but the real things that got me dinged enough to be on the reserve list rather than a funded proposal, felt fair. But last year, it was very clear that I came down on the wrong side of something that one or more reviewers thought about politics and the theoretical framework. They really went on about things that were in the proposal the year before and were viewed favorably by those reviewers. There is nothing that you can do as an applicant to guard against it. You just have to hope that a) you wrote a good proposal, and b) the reviewers are trying to be fair, and c) that the reviewers also like your ideas.

I'm sure there are some amazing proposals among those we submitted and I hope many of us get funded.

[AnnaMC]

Why do I still feel that there will be no status change this year and that we will all suddenly receive THE E-MAIL at some point next week? #HEART_ATTACK_MODE_ON #MORE_SPECULATION_JUST_FOR_THE_SAKE_OF_IT #I_HAVE_THREE_CATS_AND_I_GIVE_AWAY_THREE #NOBODY_INTERESTED? #WELL #I_THOUGHT_SO

[byo001]

What are the chances of getting MSCA if you have zero post doc experience...if feels like people in that category are already disadvantaged

[trina_80]

I first want to say . . . . sometimes you fall on the wrong side of this for someone.

That's true. I attended a MSCA training seminar and they invited an evaluator from the previous year. He said bluntly that he usually decided if he "liked" the project or not and if it was worthy of being financed or not just from reading the abstract. Which was borderline offensive.
So I completely agree that luck does play a big role in the selection process and that it mostly has to do with landing the right evaluators for that particular project. I just believe that it’s a bit much to blame it all on good / bad luck, as some have suggested.

That's true, it isn't just luck. And it really matters to pay attention to the requirements of the MSCA. The first time I was reviewed there were a couple of stupid comments, but the real things that got me dinged enough to be on the reserve list rather than a funded proposal, felt fair. But last year, it was very clear that I came down on the wrong side of something that one or more reviewers thought about politics and the theoretical framework. They really went on about things that were in the proposal the year before and were viewed favorably by those reviewers. There is nothing that you can do as an applicant to guard against it. You just have to hope that a) you wrote a good proposal, and b) the reviewers are trying to be fair, and c) that the reviewers also like your ideas.

I'm sure there are some amazing proposals among those we submitted and I hope many of us get funded.

You're absolutely right.

[Diatosystem]

Why do I still feel that there will be no status change this year and that we will all suddenly receive THE E-MAIL at some point next week? #HEART_ATTACK_MODE_ON #MORE_SPECULATION_JUST_FOR_THE_SAKE_OF_IT #I_HAVE_THREE_CATS_AND_I_GIVE_AWAY_THREE #NOBODY_INTERESTED? #WELL #I_THOUGHT_SO

Isn't too early next week? Deadline is on Feb 9th...

[AnnaMC]

I also mentioned three cats...

Why do I still feel that there will be no status change this year and that we will all suddenly receive THE E-MAIL at some point next week? #HEART_ATTACK_MODE_ON #MORE_SPECULATION_JUST_FOR_THE_SAKE_OF_IT #I_HAVE_THREE_CATS_AND_I_GIVE_AWAY_THREE #NOBODY_INTERESTED? #WELL #I_THOUGHT_SO

Isn't too early next week? Deadline is on Feb 9th...

[Diatosystem]

What are the chances of getting MSCA if you have zero post doc experience...if feels like people in that category are already disadvantaged

I feel you bro...

I actually don't...because on one hand your CV is part of the evaluation, on the other I think they "weight" the evaluation depending on your career stage (At least I hope so )