ERC awards 8.3 million Euros to Scientists in Portugal

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

The results announced are provisional, with several applicants still on the reserve list, and a final decision is expected soon. By now, 22 Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries have seen national applications approved under this Call funding from the Horizon Europe program.

The projects of the five scientists who will develop their research in Portuguese R&D institutions address very diverse themes/areas: Manuel Souto, University of Aveiro, chemistry and materials; Sérgio Rosa Domingos, University of Coimbra, chemistry-physics 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. The Calls of the ERC Starting Grant began in 2007, with Portugal already having more than half a hundred Studentships awarded.

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 of 5 years duration and with an average funding amount of 1.5 million euros, so that these young scientists can build their research teams and develop their best ideas, in all areas of knowledge. In this Call, which opened in 2021, more than 4,000 proposals were submitted, representing an increase of 24% over the Call of 2020. In this area, Portugal reached a new maximum in terms of proposals submitted (2.8% of the total vs. 2.5% in 2014), increasing about 56% compared to the number of proposals submitted in the Call of 2020. It should be noted that 51% of the proposals from Portugal are led by women (versus 40% of all applications submitted).

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

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, which is part of the PERIN network (Portugal in Europe Research and Innovation Network) and coordinates the promotion of ERC activities, will continue committed to raising the levels of national participation in Calls of the ERC, in all its different types, in order to increase the national success rate in this important instrument of Horizon Europe.

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