EU funding for top researchers
EU funding for top researchers
A total of 284 well established senior researchers are set to receive €660m in the latest funding round from the European Research Council (ERC) which will enable them to pursue their ‘blue sky’ research.
In its sixth and last Advanced Grant competition under the EU’s Seventh Research Framework Programme, the ERC will provide individual grants of up to €3.5 million. The next Advanced Grants call will be the first under Horizon 2020, the new EU research and innovation programme.
European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, said: “The ERC funds researchers who are at the top of their game, and we need this talent in Europe. Their creativity and hard work creates knowledge that is valuable in itself, but that often also has a positive impact on our society and economy. That is why the ERC budget will receive a major funding boost under Horizon 2020.”
Advanced Grants are awarded to well established top researchers of any nationality or age, scientifically independent and with a recent research track record, as well as a profile which identifies them as leaders in their respective field(s). The ERC also funds young, early-career top researchers (ERC Starting Grants) and already independent excellent scientists (Consolidator Grants).
In this call, the successful candidates are of 27 different nationalities, with British, German, French, Dutch and Italian researchers being the most numerous. Grantees are based in some 150 institutions across 18 different European Research Area countries.
