The European Research Council (ERC) today announced the completion of the selection process for its first Starting Independent Investigators grants. The awards -- aimed at scientists with between 2 and 9 years of post-Ph.D. experience, an excellent track record, ground-breaking research ideas, and in the process of establishing an independent research group in Europe -- attracted some 9,000 applications back in April. Of these, 559 were retained for the second round.
Within a few days, around 300 up-and-coming scientists will receive a notification for an ERC Starting grant of up to €2 million for 5 years. The awardees are from 32 different nationalities and are based in 170 host institutions in 21 different countries. On average, the awardees are 35 years old, and a quarter of them are women. The first contracts will be signed in February next year.
The competition was especially tough this year, but those who were disappointed may draw on their experience to apply next year. Here is some advice from ERC panel members that may help your grant application stand out. The ERC also issued many documents on the process, have a look at those, too. (In August, we wrote about the home countries, experience level, and gender of those 559 finalists; today's announcement includes a similar breakdown of the finalists.)
As for the winners: Congratulations! I think we're all curious to hear about you, your research plans, and what you thought of the application process. So send us a comment or use our Science Careers Forum to share your experience!
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