We launched a platform to support applicants for prestigious ERC projects

The Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAS) hosted an information seminar on 17 February 2025 on the new BMC2ERC platform, which we have set up to increase the number, quality and success rate of European Research Council (ERC) project submissions from our centre. The sole criterion for the evaluation and selection of research projects for prestigious ERC grants is the excellence of the scientific idea. The aim of the seminar was to present the objectives and timetable of the platform and to provide background information on the different ERC schemes.

“We are delighted to already have twelve applicants interested in applying for an ERC grant over the next two years, to whom we will provide a comprehensive mentoring programme. We will enable them not only to discuss and develop their ideas within the platform, but also to work on the project under the guidance of international experts with extensive experience in evaluating or implementing ERC projects. In the final phase, we will arrange for the applicants to have their projects prescreened by specialised consultancy firms,” describes Dr. Miroslav Baláž, BMC SAS Scientific Secretary for International Cooperation.

At the seminar, more detailed information was presented by Zuzana Reptová, who for years worked as a national contact point for Horizon projects at the Center for Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic and is currently a project consultant at Addsen.

European Research Council (ERC) grants are awarded through an open competition. There are three main grant schemes: the ERC Starting Grants, designed to support projects by young scientists who are beginning to develop their independent careers and set up their own research teams; the ERC Consolidator Grants, which support projects by scientists at the stage of consolidating their own research teams; and the ERC Advanced Grants, a scheme for established researchers who have already achieved internationally recognised results or have made an impact in their field of science.

Applications for grants can come from any field of research, including social sciences and humanities. In particular, interdisciplinary projects that cross the boundaries of different research areas, ground-breaking projects to address new research areas or proposals to introduce unconventional and innovative approaches in science are encouraged.

Dr Baláž concluded the seminar by saying that ERC grants are not just about prestige. “They bring funding to do cutting-edge research, to develop ideas that national schemes do not allow to develop, to get infrastructure. In addition, they will help to stabilise the team as well as reduce the administrative burden,” explains Dr Baláž.

Text: Dr. M. Baláž, BMC SAS; E. Rybárová, BMC SAS

Photo: A. Jančovičová