President says Italy needs “culture of excellence”
The president of the European Research Council, Professor Helga Nowotny, has visited Italy and called for the country to focus on developing the country’s attractiveness for scientists.
Speaking in Naples after discussing scientific excellence with national and local authorities, Nowotny commented: “I welcome Italian Research Minister Maria Chiara Carrozza’s willingness to provide better perspectives for researchers in Italy. This is the right philosophy to nurture excellence. Steps taken at national level to be more competitive in ERC calls are raising the overall level of European research.”
Italian researchers follow German, British and French researchers in terms of ERC grants awarded, receiving 359 grants out of 4,000. However, 40% of researchers conduct their research outside Italy, while only 24 foreign nationals are working in Italy with their ERC grant.
In a message noting Nowotny’s visit, the Italian Research Minister said: “Our Ministry is strongly committed to increase the participation and, most of all, the success rate of both our researchers and our institutions in ERC competitions. In the next national research programme, we will implement specific actions in this respect, that will be based on a national ‘mirroring’ of what the ERC does at a European level. I hope that these efforts, in spite of the difficult economic situation, will achieve the success they deserve.”
The ERC also held an information day at the Città della Scienza museum and showcased 70 ERC research projects in the areas of particle physics, nanotechnology and philosophy, as well as several others. The museum was devastated by a major fire earlier this year.
