Funding
When theorist Simone Latini applied for a role as a coordinator for a European research and training network, he did not expect it to become a career-defining move. The project received the highest possible evaluation score and helped pave the way for a major individual grant.
Fakta
• Apply early. He points out that many wait too long to apply.
• Apply again. He was rejected the first time by Villum — and succeeded on the second attempt.
• Apply broadly. In its simplest form, his advice is: apply as much as possible.
• Get others to read along. That “non‑expert” perspective, which Research Support DTU, among others, can contribute to, was crucial in the application work.
He starts by contacting Research Support DTU at The Office for Research, Advice and Innovation (AFRI), which helps researchers apply for external funding. There, he encounters some skepticism.
Research Support DTU initially assesses that the EU evaluation will conclude that Simone Latini, who is at the beginning of his career, will be too inexperienced to serve as coordinator. Several of the partners are also relatively young.
The pivotal issue becomes how Simone Latini can persuade the evaluation panel that he and his partners can shoulder the responsibility. Following discussions with MSCA-DN advisors at The Danish Agency for Higher Education, there is agreement that Simone Latini can address the issue in the application by being transparent about the fact that several of the applicants have limited experience and explaining how they will tackle this challenge.
In the application, they therefore explicitly state how the early career researchers will be supported by senior researchers by including a table listing the principal investigators and the more experienced researchers backing them.
At its core, a MSCA‑DN is about establishing PhD training across borders within a network. The application therefore turns out to be far more extensive than he anticipates. He describes entering the process “a bit out of ignorance” because he doesn’t realise how large and administratively heavy it will be. First, partners must be found and organised. Then the consortium is adjusted and the topic sharpened. After that, the application itself is built.
He applies for EU Upstart funding, receives about DKK 70,000, and uses it to hire an external consultant for the impact section and for coordinating across the project’s 12 partners. It doesn’t make the work easy, but it makes it possible.
The MSCA‑DN application ends up at around 248 pages, and one of the things he learns along the way is that the science is only part of the package. The training programme, organisation, communication, partners’ complementary strengths, and the project’s feasibility also weigh heavily.
“If, as an early career researcher, you think a major grant is won primarily on the strength of the idea alone, that’s a mistake. The application must also convince the panel that the project can be led, delivered, and create value,” Simone Latini states.
Facts
1. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network / SPARKLE
2. Villum Young Investigator
Simone Latini doesn’t just secure the MSCA‑DN; the application receives a top score in the evaluation. With that recognition behind him, he sets about applying for the Villum Young Investigator programme, which supports younger researchers in establishing their own research groups.
He has also applied the year before without success. Now he tries again with a more mature application. One of the lessons he takes from the first attempt is the importance of getting other eyes on the application — especially from people outside his narrow niche.
“This time I get more feedback and am trained for the interview by Research Support DTU. I also know how to explain the project to people outside the field,” says Simone Latini.
The second time he also stands stronger because, in the meantime, he has secured the MSCA‑DN. That makes an impression when he is invited to a second interview at Villum Fonden. He experiences that the role as coordinator of the doctoral network helps convince the fund that he is ready for a personal top grant as a research leader.
Simone Latini’s story offers a method others can use: Find the programme that fits the idea. Seek sparring early. Build the application with help. Apply before everything feels perfect. And if you get a rejection, use it as learning. When he says “apply to everything,” the point isn’t to apply randomly:
"You have to understand that a first application can also be a way to learn the system, the language, and the evaluation," he says, adding:
"Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Apply earlier than you think — and ask for help earlier than you instinctively want to."
That’s how Simone Latini starts. Not with a finished model, but with an idea, the right programme match, and the will to apply again.
Facts
Facts
Simone Latini Associate Professor Department of Physics simola@dtu.dk