Seeing these researchers arrive in Tallinn is particularly rewarding because it reflects several years of work supporting postdoctoral applicants and supervisors throughout the application process. What started as a small initiative at the School of Humanities has gradually developed into a structured programme combining training, proposal development support, feedback and follow-up activities.

One of the main lessons I have learned is that successful applications do depend on many factors. Strong candidates, committed supervisors and excellent research ideas are all important, but they often need institutional support to come together effectively. Many applicants are highly qualified researchers who simply need guidance on how to present their project, career development plan and expected impact in a way that matches the logic of the MSCA PF evaluation process.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with researchers from different countries and disciplines, helping them develop proposals, understand the evaluation criteria and navigate the application process. Not every proposal is funded, but even unsuccessful applications often lead to improved projects, new collaborations and future opportunities.

As competition for international talent continues to grow, institutions that want to attract postdoctoral researchers need to think beyond recruitment alone. Providing structured support before submission can make a significant difference, not only in funding outcomes but also in building long-term research capacity and international networks.

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MSCA Fellowship proposal preparation and support

Due to the high number of strong applications and the limited number of places available for onsite training, this year we decided to offer two tracks of MSCA training:

• An onsite training camp in Tallinn with 13 selected candidates

• A shorter online training for 10 additional candidates

Both groups are now actively working on their proposals, receiving support through feedback on multiple drafts, guidance on structure and content, and ongoing consultation with supervisors and trainers.

Disciplines and backgrounds of MSCA training participants

Participants came from a wide range of disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, including philosophy, cultural studies, history, media, and linguistics. Their diverse academic backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives brought incredible energy and richness to the group work and discussions.

MSCA training impact at Tallinn University

Thanks to the success of this initiative in previous years, other schools at Tallinn University have now adopted similar MSCA postdoctoral training programmes. Since we began running these sessions, the School of Humanities has already welcomed 5 MSCA postdoctoral fellows and 4 researchers funded through ETAg’s postdoctoral scheme—a result we’re proud of, and one that shows how targeted support can make a difference.

Feedback from MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship training participants

The feedback from this year’s training was very encouraging. Here are just a few excerpts from what participants shared:

“Attending the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship training at TLU was incredibly valuable for me. I genuinely don’t think I would have been able to approach the application process with the same clarity and confidence without this workshop.”

“The trainers did an excellent job transitioning from evaluator feedback to concrete proposals, and from the proposal requirements to specific, practical examples.”

“It was highly practical, meticulously planned, and comprehensively covered all the nuances of MSCA applications… I feel encouraged and empowered to apply.”

“I especially appreciated how practical and focused the training was—it really helped me understand what’s expected in a strong MSCA application.”

“The atmosphere was warm and supportive. I now feel much more equipped to move forward with the submission.”

We’re now entering the drafting phase—working closely with each candidate to polish their proposals and make them as strong as possible. We hope to see some of them return to Tallinn as postdoctoral researchers in 2026!

It has been a real pleasure to coordinate this training once again. When I first launched this initiative at the School of Humanities, I didn’t quite imagine how far it would go. It’s been a fantastic—if at times arduous—adventure, and deeply rewarding to support early-career researchers through this process. Even more so, it’s a joy to welcome them not just as participants, but as future colleagues.

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During the first panel, moderated by Kristin Kraav, I shared the experience of Tallinn University’s MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship initiative and the lessons learned from several years of supporting international researchers through the application process. The discussion focused on how institutions can play a more active role in attracting international talent and supporting competitive applications.

Later in the day, one of the presentations that particularly resonated with me was given by Anu Noorma, former Director General of the Estonian Research Council and herself a former MSCA fellow. Among many interesting points, one message stayed with me: every researcher who chooses Estonia represents a potential asset for the country’s research system.

This may sound obvious, but it is worth reflecting on. Considerable effort is often invested in attracting researchers, preparing applications and securing funding. However, beyond recruitment, the real challenge is how institutions support researchers once they arrive and, perhaps even more importantly, how they help them prepare for the next stage of their careers. This is a question I have been thinking about for some time. After all, career development is one of the central objectives of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and many other postdoctoral schemes.

In recent years, Tallinn University’s School of Humanities has welcomed 18 postdoctoral researchers through different funding schemes. As institutions become increasingly successful in attracting international talent, it becomes equally important to think about how researchers are supported during and after their fellowship period. This is especially relevant at the postdoctoral level, since postdoctoral researchers work on fixed-term contracts, move internationally and face a great deal of uncertainty about their future.

This is one of the reasons why I am currently involved in developing a training programme for postdoctoral researchers at Tallinn University through the Project Support Office. The initiative builds on needs that have emerged repeatedly while working with postdoctoral candidates and fellows on their proposals and career plans. It also draws on the European Competence Framework for Researchers, which emphasises not only research excellence but also leadership, collaboration, and communication, among other areas.

Funding is important, but so are mentoring, professional development opportunities, integration into research communities and access to broader career pathways both within and beyond academia. If we want international researchers to contribute fully to our institutions and research systems, supporting their development cannot begin and end with the grant application.

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The conference opened with an overview of the results of the project “Improving Communication with Migrants for Crisis Preparedness” led by Tanya Escudero, that served as a transition to move from the covid crisis to the current war crisis.

More about the Integration Conference and agenda here.

Abstract: The project “Improving Communication with Migrants for Crisis Preparedness: Lessons Learned From COVID-19”, which was carried out by researchers in Estonia, Finland and Latvia, sought to map obstacles in communicating with communities with low command of the official language and identify good practices that could be implemented in future emergencies.
The results show that, in addition to the underlying distrust of state institutions among the population, there have been several obstacles that have further aggravated the situation and perhaps put society at risk, including insufficient information available in non-official languages or the slow provision of this information; conflicting or confusing messages from official sources; the viral spread of misinformation in different spheres, such as social media; a lack of cooperation between governments and other stakeholders; and monolithic strategies that are not adapted to the needs and concerns of specific communities, such as the approach adopted during the vaccination campaign.

The resulting reports are available for open access here.

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Course participants at TLU

Aimed at PhD students from a variety of disciplines, the course was designed to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset that would enable them to successfully navigate both academic and real-world challenges. The objectives of the course were threefold: firstly, to introduce junior researchers to entrepreneurial thinking; secondly, to guide participants in exploring their inner strengths and domain expertise for impactful contributions within and beyond academia; and thirdly, to encourage interdisciplinary interactions, collaborations and network development.

The timing for developing this course was particularly good. From September 2024, the PhD curriculum at Tallinn University will include a centrally delivered module on transferable skills across all schools and disciplines (offering short practical courses and workshops of 1-2 credits). By piloting this course in the spring semester of 2024, it has been possible to fully integrate it into the upcoming curriculum.

The course was structured into six two-hour sessions, most of which took place on consecutive weeks. Both lecturers were present at each session to encourage dialogue and create a dynamic environment. Students were asked to keep a self-reflective journal: each week, they responded to a question related to that session’s topic, which then served as the basis for further reflection in subsequent sessions.

Session 1: Theoretical Foundations

This first session served as an introduction to the course and key entrepreneurial concepts and terminology. Students applied entrepreneurial thinking to research contexts and engaged in discussions to deepen their understanding.

Session 2: Discovering the entrepreneurial self

With a focus on self-discovery, this session explored personality archetypes, inner strengths, resilience and values. An in-class self-reflection exercise encouraged students to identify their strengths, weaknesses and skills.

Session 3: Domain expertise

Students looked at their specific domains of knowledge and identified how their expertise fits within the framework of entrepreneurial competence. The session included activities to map domains and link personal strengths to domain expertise.

Session 4: Building your network

This session covered the basics of networking, including understanding different network roles such as collaborators, mentors and stakeholders. Students practised identifying their current and ideal networks to support their research projects and future endeavours.

Session 5: Impact on society

Participants considered how to integrate societal factors into their work, identifying strategies to increase their impact. The group exercise involved creating an impact canvas outline a project idea which combined their strenghts, knowledge, and networks and could potentially have a societal impact.

Session 6: Presentation and Wrap-up

The final session was dedicated to refining the impact canvas, presenting ideas and reflecting on the course. Feedback was collected to assess the outcomes of the course and to plan future iterations.

More information about the course and the feedback received at Tallinn University’s website.

About the trainers:

Tanya Escudero is a Research Fellow at the School of Humanities, working on topics related to communication with migrants and linguistic minorities. She is also Senior Adviser of Doctoral Studies at Tallinn University. She has curated, delivered and organized numerous trainings at TLU focusing on practical and transferable skills for PhD students. She is currently curating the new module on transferable skills at Tallinn University which will be implemented for the first time in 2024.

Ulrike Rohn is Professor of Media Management and Media Economics at the Baltic, Film, Media and Arts School (BFM). She is the co-Head of the Tallinn University Centre of Excellence in Media Innovation and Digital Culture (MEDIT), President of the European Media Management Association (emma), co-Editor of the Journal of Media Business Studies. Ulrike leads and is part of various research projects, including projects on entrepreneurship and media management.

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