EURAXESS India would like to congratulate the 7 researchers from India who have been awarded the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 494 Starting Grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe. The funding - totalling nearly €780 million - supports cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities. It will help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas.
Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:
'The European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme. The new ERC Starting Grants winners aim to deepen our understanding of the world. Their creativity is vital to finding solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges. In this call, I am happy to see one of the highest shares of female grantees to date, a trend that I hope will continue. Congratulations to all!'
President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin, said:
'Empowering researchers early on in their careers is at the heart of the mission of the ERC. I am particularly pleased to welcome UK researchers back to the ERC. They have been sorely missed over the past years. With fifty grants awarded to researchers based in the UK, this influx is good for the research community overall.'
Projects selected for funding
The new ERC grants will support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physical sciences to social sciences and humanities. The funding is part of the EU Horizon Europe programme.
A social scientist in the Czech Republic analyses the crucial role of public opinion in military alliances; a biochemist in the UK delves into how viruses change to infect cells; a researcher in Germany explores how robots can learn to perform human-like tasks in the real world; another scientist based in Spain examines whether advanced laser techniques can help us prevent fires; and a psychologist in the Netherlands investigates (dis)information reaching teenagers.
This is just some of the research that will be conducted by the new grantees.
Facts & figures
The successful candidates proposed to host their projects at universities and research centres in 24 EU Member States and associated countries, including Germany (98 grants), the Netherlands (51), the UK (50) and France (49). They come from Europe and beyond, with 51 nationalities represented, notably Germans (94 researchers), Italians (61), French (44), and Spaniards (36).