Tag Archives: European Research Council

ERC grants competition opens

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The European Research Council (ERC) in Brussels, an independent funding body supported by the European Commission, has announced €1.86 billion (US$2.2 billion) in four types of 2018 grants for early- and mid-career principal investigators (PIs).

piggybankApplications for two grant schemes open on 3 August, including ‘Starting’ grants of up to €1.5 million for up to 5 years for PIs who earned their PhD within 2-7 years ago; and a new collaborative programme, the ‘Synergy’ grant, which will fund 2-4 PIs in a cross-disciplinary project. The Synergy scheme, which awards up to €10 million for 6 years, was piloted in 2012 and 2013. The deadline is 17 October for Starting grant applications and 14 November for Synergy applications.

Applications for ‘Proof of Concept’ grants will be accepted starting in September, and for ‘Consolidator’ grants starting in October.

The 2018 grant programme will collectively fund about 900 PIs and is estimated to support 6,000 PhD students, postdocs and other lab members. ERC’s grant-success rate is 10-15%.

To apply for a Starting grant, click here . For a Synergy grant application, click here.  Good luck!

 

ERC funding: Maximize your chances

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A brief insight into what the funding process is like for Starting and Consolidator grant applicants, once you click submit!

Naturejobs-podcastLast week I took the opportunity to go to Brussels to visit the ERC HQ. It’s a beautiful building in the centre of the city, and although surrounded by building works on the outside, it’s rather tranquil and green on the inside.

But, my job wasn’t to assess the interior design of ERC HQ. Instead, I was there to find out what happens to a starting or consolidator grant application once you hit submit.

In this podcast you will hear Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, the ERC president, on why he’s so keen to help early career researchers. I also speak to Alejandro (Alex) Martin, who heads up the call co-ordination team, which  organises the whole evaluation process from the arrival to the final evaluation that creates the ranking list. This list determines who gets what funding. He gives a sneak peak into how the panels evaluate candidates and what they are keen to assess.

I got to meet Iva Tolić and Veerle Huvenne, two really interesting and enthusiastic scientists who wanted to share their ERC grant application stories. Veerle is in the final year of her Starting Grant, and Iva has just received the 5000th Consolidator Grant from the ERC. 

This podcast also acts as a sneak preview for our first FREE Naturejobs webcast, scheduled to happen on September 30th 2015. We’ve got 4 great speakers lined up for you, ready to share their insights and experiences on how to put together your application in order for you to maximize your chances of getting funded. So, keep your eyes on the blog!