ERC’s Photis Kafatos: “There will be very stiff competition.”
The ERC also announced the completion of its first round of funding: a starting grant of €2 billion over the next six years for young researchers. Around 250 winners out of 9,000 applicants will be informed in the coming days, the ERC said.
The ERC was set up to champion excellence in research so the lion’s share of its budget goes to frontier research, so-called advanced grants, the ERC said. Depending on the nature of the research, ERC advanced grants may be up to €3.5 million for a period of 5 years.
“To thrive in the globalised, interconnected world of tomorrow, Europe must reinforce its leading role in science and research, and make itself a highly desirable home for the best talents,” the ERC’s scientific council, which is responsible for allocating the funds, said in a statement.
Applications will have a chance of succeeding only if the project is outstanding and the principal investigator has an outstanding track record and leadership profile in terms of originality and impact of research achievements, said Professor Fotis Kafatos, Chairman of the ERC Scientific Council.
“Generous funding is available but there will be very stiff competition,” he added.
The advanced grants are open to researchers of any nationality, working or planning to work in Europe, and working in any field of science, scholarship or engineering, as well as to those projects that cross the boundaries between disciplines and which explore new fields, the ERC said.
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