Observers predict fierce competition for the 30 European Research Council Plus grants on offer
Photo credits: vverve / Bigstock
The European Research Council (ERC) is launching its first-ever call for ERC Plus grants on June 2, offering up to €7 million each to 30 lucky winners. With researchers at any career stage eligible to apply, and no restrictions on research topic, observers predict a tough competition.
“Blue-sky, bottom-up calls with long-term funding are ideal for fostering research creativity,” says Jean-Stéphane Dhersin, head of the Brussels office of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), currently the biggest winner of ERC grants. “With only 30 awards globally per year, however, success rates will unfortunately be extremely low.”
ERC Plus grants were first announced in May 2025 as part of the Choose Europe initiative to attract international talent, including disaffected…
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