The Marie Curie Fellowships scheme has had massive success, and has benefited from greater than expected budget increases between successive Framework Programme. For FP7, the EC has build upon the fellowship types available in FP6, although in some cases there has been a shift in emphasis. For this reason, researchers who applied in FP6 are strongly advised to read the relevant documentation for FP7 to ensure that they are still eligible to submit an application/proposal and that they fully understand the subtle changes that have been made.
The Marie Curie Fellowships have been split into 5 headings, each of which aims to respond to specific problems within particular areas of the European research community.
Activities under the Initial training of researchers heading specifically aim to support and improve career development for researchers at the earliest stages of their research careers. Typically, these researchers are at doctoral or very early post-doctoral level, and may be from either the public or private sector. Training in this area aims to broaden both the scientific and transferable skills of researcher, and might include training in technology transfer and entrepreneurship.