So far in 2025, Oxford and Cambridge have won more Horizon money than any other universities
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford University, UK. Photo credits: Arsty / BigStock
Oxford and Cambridge universities are leading the Horizon Europe league table in 2025, following the country’s full return to the EU research programme last year.
The two universities have overtaken last year’s leaders, the University of Copenhagen and KU Leuven, to claim the two top spots.
The figures are still provisional, with four months left in the year for additional Horizon Europe grants to be awarded, but UK universities have already far exceeded their 2024 performance in EU research.
In 2025 so far, 88 UK universities have secured a total of €431 million from Horizon Europe, or about 15% of the total €2.78 billion awarded to universities across Europe. That is nearly double the €219 million received last year, when the UK was still regaining momentum after being excluded from the programme between 2021 and 2023.
After a slow start in 2024, the UK government launched an outreach campaign in January 2025, encouraging researchers to take…
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