The European Research Council funds researchers from across the world with up to euro 3.5 million per grant for a five-year period
For those with brilliant minds, who have always yearned to further their research but for lack of money have kept their aspirations bottled up, the European Research Council (ERC) could be just the right door waiting to be opened. The ERC funds researchers from across the world with up to euro 3.5 million per grant for a five-year period, across all disciplines. First set up in 2007, the ERC has awarded euro 5.7 billion to over 3,400 scientists, both who have just started their careers and those who have established their names in their respective fields.
Said Professor Donald Dingwell, secretary general, ERC, ?The climate of science, education and research in India is very positive and we are confident than ever that Indian researchers will respond to this remarkable opportunity.? The ERC delegation was in India recently to spread awareness about their campaign to stimulate scientific excellence between the very best, creative researchers so that many more could learn and avail of this opportunity. Added Dingwell, ?The ERC aims to support ?global brain circulation? and to bring the best researchers together to exchange both ideas and experience.?
The first step to getting the grant is to write a research proposal and send it to the ERC, which will then be screened by their panel of experts. To pursue the research, a grant-holder must have a host institute in any of the European Union and its associate countries, where they will have to spend half of their research time, the other half can be spent on research anywhere else in the world, including the candidate?s country of origin.
Since it was launched, 173 Indian nationals (living in India as well as abroad) have applied for the grant, of which 13 have received it. However, from within India, only 12 researchers applied, of which two have qualified. Said Dr Ramesh Pillai, one of the awardees of the grant, ?The ERC grant has been designed by and for researchers. The ERC is a fantastic opportunity for Indian scientists as it provides financial backing for developing their creative ideas.? Dr Pillai is doing research in genome protection at the EMBL Grenoble and he was awarded an ERC grant of euro 2.4 million in 2010. With no restrictions ascribed to any disciplinary areas, which can be pursued for research, about 40% of the grants are given to research in physical sciences and engineering, another 40% to life sciences and 20% to social sciences and humanities.
The ERC delegation visited around 15 prestigious Indian universities and research institutes in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Jawarharlal Nehru University, University of Pune and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, to raise awareness about the ERC grant.
From 2007 to 2013, the ERC, a component of the EU?s Seventh Research Framework Programme, had a budget of euro 7.5 billion, of which euro 5.7 billion have been granted. The European Commission last year proposed to double the ERC budget for 2014-20 to euro 15 billion under the new Framework Programme ?Horizon 2020?.