I see no reason why you should not take up a funded position IF you get it. But bear in mind that competition for EURAXESS (Marie-Curie) is quite stiff. The incentive for those positions is quite appealing even better than some Lecturer positions, so you should expect some competition. For now concentrate on your current position, don't lose track until you get the funded post.

@dotdottung
Don't give up!! Like I mentioned on another thread, I started applying for funded PhD positions in 2011 and only managed to get a post last year (2013). I would sit the whole day surfing through the internet looking for funded PhD positions. I would be shortlisted and interviewed by phone or skype and sometimes the interviewer(s) would even give me an impression as if the position was already mine. I even created a database of positions I had applied for, University, date of application, date of interview, outcome, etc. You wont believe it but I applied for more than 100 positions over a period of 2 years. Every rejection that I received gave me a chance to review my CV, covering letter, statement of purpose and proposal writing (where applicable). One morning I received an email with the subject "Scholarship offer - University of xxxxxx". Initially, I thought it was one of those countless rejections. I downloaded the attached document and BOOOOOOOM, there it was, I had just been awarded a PhD scholarship. Happiest day in my life I have to say. It was a dream come true, it's not easy to get a scholarship in UK especially if you're non-EU. Guess what, my mail box continued being bombarded with rejections from previous applications months after being awarded and I would just laugh. Never give up, even after being interviewed and waiting for an outcome, continue applying for other positions. One day you will get it, and when you finally enroll for your PhD, the struggles you went through in searching for a position will act as springboard to work extremely hard.

It's because the process is quite rigorous. These are centrally administered studentships, different from those administered at School or Research group level. The University offers over 100 PhD studentships across all fields and applicants choose from the advertised topics. Individual faculties will shortlist the candidates and interview them by phone or skype, they then present the nominated candidates to the research office. Once the research office receives the names from all the faculties, that's when then send out letters to successful applicants. I was actually informed during the interview that the whole process takes some time and I should not expect a decision before May.

Try this blog:

There are quite a good number of them, first try the one below

I am of the impression that the acknowledgement is not and never under scrutiny from the examiner. My understanding (which may be incorrect) is that acknowledgement is where you write pretty much anything personal and the author is at liberty to use any words as long as they are appropriate.

I remember the time I was searching for a PhD studentship, I got interviewed on a number of occasions. At the end of the interview when I am given an opportunity to ask the interviewer(s) some questions or seek any clarifications, I would always ask when I should expect to get a response and they'd tell me.

The rule of thumb is to apply for as many studentships as possible, don't give up when you get a rejection, build on that to improve (amend) your CV or Statement of Purpose etc. I started searching for PhD studentships in 2011 and I finally got it in 2013. I even developed a spreadsheet which contained data of institutions I had applied for, the date I submitted the application, date interviewed (if any), date of expected outcome and the outcome.

Just to give you a rough estimate of how long it took to get a response for my current PhD position; I was interviewed on 26 March 2013 and I received an email on 20 May 2013 that I was successful (happiest day of my life).