ERC awards 8.3 million euros to scientists in Portugal

The European Research Council (ERC) today announced the award of 397 Studentships worth 619 million euros to early-career scientists (ERC Starting Grants). In this Call The applications of five scientists who will develop their ambitious projects in Portugal, in different areas of knowledge, were selected for funding, with a total funding volume of around 8.3 million euros.

The results announced are provisional, and there are still several candidates on the reserve list, awaiting a final decision soon. So far, 22 Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries have seen national applications approved under this Call funding from the Horizon Europe programme.

The projects of the five scientists who will develop their research in Portuguese R&D institutions address very different themes/areas: Manuel Souto, University of Aveiro, chemistry and materials; Sérgio Rosa Domingos, University of Coimbra, physical chemistry and molecular machines; Susana Soares, LAQV/REQUIMTE, University of Porto, food biotechnology; Yonatan Gez, ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, socio-anthropology of development with a focus on East Africa: and Vera Aldeias, University of Algarve, study of the human past and archaeology. You Calls of the ERC Starting Grant began in 2007, with Portugal having already surpassed fifty Studentships assigned.

This was the first Call ERC Starting Grants launched under Horizon Europe for the period 2021-2027. This Studentship for early-career scientists funds research projects lasting 5 years and with an average funding value of 1.5 million euros, so that these young scientists can set up their research teams and develop their best ideas, in all areas of knowledge. In this Call , which opened in 2021, more than 4 thousand proposals were submitted, which represented an increase of 24% compared to the Call 2020. In this area, Portugal reached a new high in terms of submitted proposals (2.8% of the total vs. 2.5% in 2014), increasing by around 56% compared to the number of proposals submitted in Call 2020. It is worth noting that 51% of Portugal's proposals are led by women (versus 40% of all submitted applications).

According to ERC data, on average, each ERC project generates employment for more than 5 people, from researchers to scientific managers, doctoral students or technicians, and represents international recognition of the research carried out and an important milestone in the scientific independence of these scientists at the beginning of their careers.

The Foundation for Science and Technology, which is part of the PERIN network (Portugal in Europe Research and Innovation Network) and coordinates the promotion of ERC activities, will continue to be committed to increasing the levels of national participation in Calls of the ERC, in all its different typologies, in order to increase the national success rate in this important instrument of Horizon Europe.

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