Applications are now open for 14 fully funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Double Degree PhD Fellowships in the framework of the Doctoral Network-Joint Doctorates on Multilingual Language Awareness in the European Digital Society (MultiLAwa HORIZON – MSCA – 2025 – DN-JD). With its innovative approach, MultiLAwa will train 14 Doctoral Candidates (DC) in order to meet the job market requirements in the digital and (Gen)AI era. Indeed, there is a great need for experts in language awareness with a solid plurilingual competence and a profound linguistic and cultural understanding of digital tools and AI concepts in various burgeoning professional fields.

Presentation

Applications are now open for 14 fully funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Double Degree PhD Fellowships in the framework of the Doctoral Network-Joint Doctorates on Multilingual Language Awareness in the European Digital Society (MultiLAwa HORIZON – MSCA – 2025 – DN-JD).

With its innovative approach, MultiLAwa will train 14 Doctoral Candidates (DC) in order to meet the job market requirements in the digital and (Gen)AI era. Indeed, there is a great need for experts in language awareness with a solid plurilingual competence and a profound linguistic and cultural understanding of digital tools and AI concepts in various burgeoning professional fields.

The consortium uniquely combines expertise in the following areas: (Applied) Linguistics, Digital Linguistics & Language Technologies (AI, NLP, Computational Linguistics), Gender Linguistics, Interactional Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Lexicography, Terminology, LSP, Didactics and Language Policy. The research programme will also integrate expertise, data, techniques, tools, concepts and theories from other scientific disciplines: Economic Sciences (Finance), Information Science and Engineering (AI and Multimedia), Environmental and Geosciences (Circular Economy).

Values of plurilingualism: The consortium will train 14 DCs as plurilingual ambassadors of plurilingualism in research excellence by using both English and German for internal communication during the training events and to achieve the respective research objectives in their multilingual individual research project.

All Doctoral Candidates (DCs) will be awarded one joint doctoral degree (‘cotutelle’), on two PhD diplomas, i.e. one diploma from each of the two host universities from to different countries. They will be part of a joint European PhD training programme for all Doctoral Candidates, in connection with their local Doctoral School. The recruited DCs will need to spend time at both universities. The period of time at each university partner varies according to the institution and country in question and will be notified in the joint supervision agreements.

Secondments: The DCs will also do research training stays: long ‘secondments’ (from 1 to 6 months) and, if applicable, short research stays (from a few days to one week). The secondment period(s) will take place at partners of MultiLAwa.

All positions are fully funded, with very competitive salaries (cf. below). The start date is 1 November 2026.

General eligibility criteria

All candidates are expected to

• have the potential to conduct research of excellent quality, as demonstrated by initial academic work such as the master’s thesis, and – if applicable – presentations at conferences, awareness-raising activities or publications.
• be interested in working in a multilingual, interdisciplinary and international research environment.
• have excellent communication skills in German and English (at least B2).
• be willing to undertake international research secondments and travels.

To be considered eligible, applicants must meet the following conditions:

1. Not be in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.

See details in “Horizon Europe Programme: Guide for applicants – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions DN 2025” on page 11 :

“Eligible researchers: All researchers recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment) and undertake transnational mobility […]. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.”

2. Be in possession of a Master of Arts, Master of Translation, Master of Education, or a Master of Science (MSc) or equivalent degree in Linguistics or similar disciplines that provides the DC with appropriate background for the MultiLAwa DN-project – with a high mark in the Master programme (at least high honour / > 70% (distinction)¹).

3. Meet the Mobility rule of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Doctoral Networks, i.e. must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting university for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date.

Mobility Rule – Horizon Europe Programme: Guide for applicants – MSCA DN 2025:
Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account. For international European research organisations, international organisations, or entities created under Union law, recruited researchers must not have spent more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment in the same appointing organisation.
Note that the mobility rule applies to the (first) beneficiary where the researcher is recruited. In case of multiple recruitments, the mobility rule only applies to the first recruitment. (page 5)

To determine the recruiting universities, see the overview on the 14 open PhD positions and the description of each Individual Research Project (IRP).

4. German and English languages: Applicants must demonstrate that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English and German is sufficiently high for them to benefit fully from the network training and to conduct their individual research project. At least B2 level (or equivalent) in German and English are expected. Knowledge of additional (foreign) languages is an advantage, as described in the open PhD positions.

Please note: Instruction languages are English and German, as lectures will always be held in one of these languages. Evidence of the required knowledge must be provided in the form of language certificates. For information on the types of evidence you can provide to demonstrate your language skills, please see details in “Application Process”.

Benefits & Salary

We offer:

a comprehensive, interactive and international doctoral training programme;
a dedicated team of experts from prestigious European partner institutions in the Humanities and Social Sciences and associated leading international industrial companies to cooperate with;
a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP) to prepare the Doctoral Candidates for their future careers;
a local individual training at universities in accordance with the PCDP description;
an attractive remuneration package in accordance with the MSCA-DN programme regulations for DCs.

Salary:

The successful candidates will receive a full-time employment contract for 36 months as per Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) regulations for Doctoral Candidates.

The salary consists of a monthly living allowance (EUR 4010 – gross value), a monthly mobility allowance (EUR 710), and, if applicable, a monthly family allowance (EUR 660). A long-term leave allowance and a special needs allowance are offered if applicable. Information about the salary for DCs can be found in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Work Programme 2023-2025 on page 118. Taxation and Social contributions (including pension) deductions will be deducted according to national and company regulations.

Please note the country correction coefficient (see above-quoted document, page 156) applies to the living allowance in order to ensure equal treatment and purchasing power parity for all researchers. Salary rules apply to the Doctoral Candidates hosted in the European Union and will change depending on the recruiting university.

Country correction coefficients (2025):

Austria: 109,7%
Denmark: 132,8%
France: 118,1%
Germany: 101,2%
Italy: 95,3%
Poland: 74,1%
Portugal: 93,7%
Switzerland: 163,8%

In addition to their individual research projects, all Doctoral Candidates will benefit from further professional development opportunities, including secondments, various training modules as well as transferable skills courses and active participation in workshops, in conferences and in many public engagement activities.

Submission guidelines

The initial application deadline will be 8 July 2026, 11:59 pm (CEST).

Where to apply: application [at] multilawa.eu

General enquiries regarding the DN-JD MultiLAwa and the application process can be sent by email to Prof. Hélène Vinckel-Roisin: helene.vinckel-roisin [at] univ-lorraine.fr

For questions regarding the individual positions, you are encouraged to contact the academic co-supervisors responsible for the Individual Research Projects directly, see details on the page “Open PhD positions”.

– The application must be sent as a single PDF-file to application [at] multilawa.eu
– The files must not exceed 10 MB in total (if the document is larger, you may need to compress it).
– The file name should follow this format: MultiLAwa_application_LAST NAME_First Name.

Your application must include the following documents, numbered, titled and in this order:

1. Central application form, indicating the selected project(s) (max. 3 Individual Research Projects – IRPs) :
MultiLAwa Application-Form
2. Copy of recognised ID document
3. Motivation letter (max. 2 pages, in German or English)
4. Detailed Curriculum Vitae (in German or English)
5. Research statement (max. 3 pages, in German or in English, detailing how you would approach the IRPs for which you are applying)
6. Recommendation letters from two academic referees (addressing – if possible – your academic, technical and teamwork skills, your independence and motivation)
7. Copy of your Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificate and transcript of records.
If the documents are in a language other than English or German, please provide a translation
8. Language certificates for English and German for non-native speakers
Please note: Instruction languages are German and English. Evidence of the required knowledge must be provided in a suitable manner

Preliminary dates for the recruitment procedure

• Wednesday 8 July 2026, 11:59 pm (CEST/Brüssel): Deadline for all applications
• Wednesday 15 July to Friday 7 August 2026: Preselection process by the DC-selection committees
• Tuesday 11 August 2026: Notification of the results of the assessment of the written applications to the applicants (rejected, waiting list, invitation to interview). The waiting list will remain active until the end of the recruitment process (by 14 September 2026)
• Monday 31 August to Monday 7 September 2026: Online interviews with shortlisted candidates by the DC-selection committees
• By Monday 14 September 2026: Results of the recruitment procedure: list of selected DCs for each IRP.
• 1 September 2026: Start date of the MultiLAwa project
• 1 November 2026: Start date of MultiLAwa PhDs

Selection and evaluation process

A specific Selection Commission will be established for each individual research project / PhD position to assess the applicants.

Each Selection Commission includes the two academic co-supervisors, the secondment(s) supervisor(s), and where appropriate, and depending on the local rules of the beneficiary universities, a member of the local doctoral school.

The Selection and the Recruitment of the Doctoral Candidates are conducted in accordance with The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

The evaluation process centralised by the Recruitment, Training and Skill Progress Committee (RTSPC) of the MultiLAwa consortium will include two stages:

• an internal selection based on the evaluation of each application sent to application [at] multilawa.eu (Deadline: 8 July 2026)
• and an individual online interview between 31 August and 7 September 2026.

1^st stage: Application assessment

Applications for each PhD position to be filled will be examined based on a list of evaluation criteria common to each selection committee, including three main criteria:

• Criterion 1. Research Excellence of the applicant: coherence and quality of the applicant’s education and track record; a high grade in the Master’s Programme; a high mark in the Master’s Thesis; scientific profile of the applicant, international experience; strong digital skills (for example knowledge of bibliography software (Zotero, Citavi, etc.), knowledge/mastery of digital corpus analysis tools, or other possibly relevant software for the selected IRPs etc.) (50 points)
• Criterion 2. Match between the applicant’s profile and the selected Individual Research Project(s), incl. good knowledge of another language / other languages needed for the IRP(s) (35 points)
• Criterion 3. Motivation(s) of the applicant and potential impact of the research and training programme on the applicant’s career (15 points)

Candidates that score at least 70 points are eligible for a virtual individual interview; however, not all candidates scoring 70 points or more may be invited for an interview depending on the applicant pool. The selected applicants will then be interviewed via videoconference in line with the MSCA Green Charter.

2^nd stage: Interview

Individual interviews will be conducted to gain a better understanding of each applicant’s background, education and skills, proposed Individual Research Project and motivation for applying. All interviews will be conducted via videoconference and will last approximately 20-30 minutes. The languages used for the interviews are German and English.
The Selection Commission will evaluate the interviewees based on the following criteria:

• Criterion 1. Excellence of the research statement: innovativeness, scientific knowledge and excellence of the research statement as demonstrated during the discussion, as well as affinity and interest in interdisciplinary research (60 points)
• Criterion 2. Quality of the applicant’s oral presentation: argumentation, communication skills, and language skills (40 points)

Each DC-Selection Committee draws up a shortlist for each PhD position. It will reserve the right to hold a second interview round, if needed.

Announcement of the results

The MultiLAwa network will publish the selected candidates for each position on the project website by 14 September 2026. In addition, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection process with an Evaluation Summary Report.

Gender equality

MultiLAwa will comply with the objectives defined in the “Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030”. The consortium considers the promotion of equal opportunities and gender balance to be an important part of the recruitment of the Doctoral Candidates.