Thanks to the progress in the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU, researchers in CH can participate in the ERC Starting Grant 2025 call. Their proposals are evaluated by the ERC Executive Agency. In case of approval, if an association agreement is not in place, SERI will fund the projects.
Applicants must have successfully defended their PhD thesis between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022 included (ref. PhD defence/viva date). Both applicants with and without professorial position are eligible.
ERC StG supports researchers with an excellent early-stage track-record. Applicants should have already shown potential for research independence, for example by having produced at least one publication as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor.
ERC funds frontier research in any discipline. It welcomes proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research, or introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions. Applicants must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their proposal.
Up to € 1.5 million. Budget covers 100% of the direct costs plus a contribution of 25% towards indirect costs.
Proposals are evaluated by remote international experts and by discipline-specific panels in a two-step evaluation procedure. Selected applicants are invited for an online interview in front of the panel (taking place in spring/early summer 2025).
Reviewers evaluate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of the project, as well as the intellectual capacity, creativity, and commitment of the applicants.
External candidates, and internal candidates without a professorial position, must send a complete CV + publication list, a cover motivation letter and letters of support from USI professors to Research Service by the 16th of August for an internal assessment.
Have a look at projects approved at the last call. The ERC database allows you to filter by discipline and grants you access to the abstracts.
