Mapping the frontiers of science - ERC Scientific Council editorial
The ERC’s bottom-up approach to funding research has sparked 6700 projects under the Horizon 2020 framework programme, many of which have pushed scientific frontiers and advanced knowledge in fields varying from mathematics to linguistics and from…
How the pandemic shaped the research environment
A perspective from Dr Mostafa Moonir Shawrav, Chair of the association for alumni of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the European Union’s flagship fund for doctoral education and postdoctoral training of researchers. Members of…
The effects of the pandemic
Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed the way we live and work, it is timely to reflect on its impact on the world of research, how we adapted and coped, and what we have learnt. That’s what this issue of the ERC Magazine is about…
Tackling Covid-19 – the role of European research
An analysis of academic publications of the last two years shows that the EU is the third most frequently acknowledged funding source for COVID-19 related research. A report from an ERC monitoring specialist, Alexis-Michel Mugabushaka, breaks down…
From fledgling idea to European success story
Isn’t it true that to appreciate the present and look to the future, one has to understand the past? That’s why it is timely to take a stroll down memory lane, as the European Research Council marks its fifteenth anniversary. After years of demands…
Innovation - Editorial from ERC Scientific Council
Max Planck once stated: "Insight must precede application". It is from basic insight that new knowledge is generated; and it is by building upon this new knowledge that novel successful applications can be created. It is by raising the overall…
Frontier research – its role in innovation and barriers to successful commercialisation
Impact beyond Science of ERC funded research
More than one in ten ERC funded researchers who responded to a survey say they had either created companies, transferred the results of their research to pre-existing companies, or both. Among the recipients of ERC Proof of Concept Grants, this…
Open Science - Editorial from ERC Scientific Council
Open Science aims to transform current scientific practices into a fully transparent and open system, in which all scientific advances are made available not only to the entire scientific community, but also to society at large. A significant bulk…