ERC Starting Grant (apply by 24 Oct 2023)
ERC Starting Grants (up to 5 years and € 1.5 million) are designed to fund Principal Investigators (PIs) who already produced excellent supervised work and are ready to work independently showing potential to be a research leader.
Researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD (Extensions are possible under certain circumstances — see the latest ERC Work Programme), a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal. Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation (known as a Host Institution/HI). It could be the HI where the applicant already works, or any other HI located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Applications for an ERC grant must be submitted by a single Principal Investigator (PI) in conjunction with and on behalf of their Host Institution, called the applicant legal entity. ERC grants support projects carried out by an individual researcher who can employ researchers of any nationality as team members. It is also possible to have one or more team members located in a non-European country.
Starting Grants may be awarded up to € 1.5 million for a period of 5 years. (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). However, an additional € 1 million can be made available to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs. An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs.
Prospective applicants should note that the ERC is aiming to change the PhD reference date for the calculation of the eligibility period from the date of the actual award according to the national rules of the country where the degree was awarded to the date of the successful PhD defence. Whenever the PhD certificate does not show the PhD defence date, applicants should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating the said date. This change will bring both clarity to the prospective candidates and significant simplification to the eligibility process.
For further information please check carefully the webpage and all documents provided there.
Note – researchers working at…
- … the University considering to apply for an ERC grant, please contact the EU Office of the University as soon as possible as internal deadlines will apply.
- … the UMG please contact your respective EU Office
- … the MPI-NAT please contact Kerstin Mosch at your EU-Office as soon as possible.