Helmholtz Association secures 16 ERC grants

Germany’s largest scientific organisation is celebrating after being awarded an unprecedented number of grants from the European Research Council.

In the ERC’s first call for research proposals under Horizon 2020, a total of 16 grants from the blue sky body’s funding schemes were awarded to Helmholtz Association researchers. In the most recent call, seven Starting Grants and nine Consolidator Grants were given to researchers at Helmholtz Centres. The award signals onward success for the organisation after it secured nine grants from the two funding schemes in the last call for proposals under FP7.

Commenting on the news, Helmholtz president Jürgen Mlyne said: “This is a very positive result for the Helmholtz Association. It underlines once again how well our researchers are performing on the European stage. We will therefore continue to encourage and support their applications for ERC grants in the future.”

The news comes as Germany takes the lead for the first time as the country securing the most ERC Starting Grants. The EU member state won 70 Starting Grants according to the 2014 Starting Grant call results, followed by the UK with 55, and France with 43. The grants each provide funding worth up to €2m over five years and are aimed at young researchers who completed their doctorate within the last seven years.

Helmholtz secured a total of 35 Starting Grants and Consolidator Grants under FP7, along with 14 Advanced Grants and one Synergy Grant.