Catalonia ranks 6th in Europe among countries awarded with European Research Council grants

Catalonia stands in 6th position in Europe among countries awarded with European Research Council (ERC) grants, one of the most distinguished and competitive EU funding schemes.

European Research Council (ERC) is a premier European funding organization for excellent frontier research. Its ERC Advanced Grant funding is one of the most distinguished and competitive EU funding schemes, awarding established and leading researchers with the opportunity to pursue cutting-edge and curiosity-driven projects that lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

218 European researchers have been awarded 544 million euros, of which 9 are researchers in Catalan institutions (4.1% of the total), representing a 56.2% of the total percentage of Spain (16).

Catalonia ranks 6th considering EU countries, behind Germany (37), France (32), Italy (14), the Netherlands (14) and Sweden (13), and ahead of countries such as Belgium (8), Denmark (7), Austria (4) or Finland (4).

The grants will undoubtedly strengthen Europe's knowledge base but also are expected to create more than 2,000 jobs for postdoctoral and Ph.D. students at the different host institutions. Among the areas awarded, five are in the social sciences and humanities, 2 in the life sciences, and 2 in physics and engineering.

Among the areas awarded in Catalonia, five are in the social sciences and humanities, 2 in the life sciences, and 2 in physics and engineering.

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, stated, "ERC grants are a top recognition and a significant commitment from our best researchers. The €544 million funding puts our 218 research leaders, together with their teams of postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. students, and research staff, in a pole position to push back the boundaries of our knowledge, break new ground, and build foundations for future growth and prosperity in Europe".

Maria Leptin, ERC President, said, "These new ERC Advanced Grantees are a testament to the outstanding quality of European research. I am especially pleased to see such a high number of female researchers in this competition and that they are increasingly successful in securing funding. We look forward to seeing the results of the new projects in the coming years, with many likely to lead to breakthroughs and new advances".

A panel of renowned researchers reviewed the 1,650 applications received, aiming to win the ERC grant to conduct their projects in several research centers from 20 countries in Europe.

The Catalan institutions that host award-winning researchers are:

• Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
• University of Barcelona (UB).
• Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).
• Institute of Photonic Sciences of Catalonia (ICFO).
• Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ).
• Bioengineering Institute of Catalonia (IBEC).
• Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES).

All research centers with awarded researchers are part of the CERCA Centres, while UPF, UAB and UB lead the Spanish universities among the top 200 best in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.

Source: European Research Council