From the training series: Introduction to European research funding and how to make the most of it
The European Research Council (ERC) is the central European funding instrument for excellent, bottom-up research and has become an internationally recognized seal for the excellence of researchers. The high reputation of the grants, generous funding, and considerable scientific freedom make the ERC particularly attractive—but also highly competitive.
With its Starting and Consolidator Grants, the ERC supports outstanding researchers in the early and middle stages of their careers in establishing and consolidating an independent, internationally visible research profile. For the upcoming call, researchers will be eligible to apply for a Starting Grant immediately after successfully defending their PhD, and at any time within the following ten-year period. Consolidator Grant applicants will be eligible to apply between five and fifteen years after defending their PhD.
Whether you are planning to submit an ERC application for the first time or want to improve your chances of success for your next submission, this 2-day-training workshop will provide you with effective support in your preparations!
It is recommended that participants attend both webinars.
Day 1 | 20.03.2026: Project Development
The focus of the first webinar will be on the conceptual development of the project, including the team composition. We explain what kind of projects the ERC panel members are expecting in terms of level of ambition, challenging nature, interdisciplinarity, potential impact etc.
Topics:
- Highlights of ERC
- Project development: screening your project idea according to the ERC evaluation criteria
- Choosing the right panel
- The perfect team + budget
- Q&A
Day 2 | 09.06.2026: Proposal Writing
The second session focuses on actual writing of the various sections of the proposal. We explain how to write a convincing proposal in terms of proposal structure, language and content.
Topics:
- Proposal writing in general
- Writing Scientific Proposal Part I (B1)
- Writing Scientific Proposal Part II (B2)
- Writing PI part: Integrated CV (B1)
- Q&A
Registration: Please send an email to the EU office and include the following information:
- Date of PhD,
- Short CV is welcome
- Have you applied for an ERC grant before?
European funding programs offer excellent opportunities for innovative research—but applying for and administering EU-projects involves complex requirements. The EU-Office (Division Research and Transfer) offers a practice-oriented training series that provides researchers and administrative staff with in-depth knowledge of European research funding and the financial rules that apply.
Horizon Europe and other international funding opportunities [de]