The University of Helsinki has been successful in its applications for grants from the European Research Council (ERC), gaining its 60th grant-winner this year. University of Helsinki projects have accumulated more than €100 million in ERC funding.
In the halfway evaluation of the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, the University of Helsinki was the 16th most successful university in the ERC funding rounds. Of other Nordic universities, only the University of Copenhagen received more ERC funding than the University of Helsinki.
The European Research Council funds high-standard basic research in all fields of scholarship. ERC funding is very competitive, vied for by the best researchers in Europe. On average, 11% of applications are successful. The University of Helsinki has received funding for atmosphere research, life sciences, social sciences and humanities research.
“The fact that the grants have been awarded to different fields of research indicates that the University of Helsinki produces top research on many fronts. Our researchers have been doing great work, and ERC funding lets us elevate our research at an even higher level,” says Jouko Väänänen, vice-rector for research.
ERC grants are allocated to three different groups: Starting Grants for promising young doctoral degree holders with 2-7 years of postdoctoral research experience, Consolidator Grants for researchers with 7-12 years of experience, and Advanced Grants for established top researchers in their field. In addition, ERC grant recipients may apply for separate funding to identify and commercialise the innovation potential of their research. The University of Helsinki has received ERC funding in all three categories, and some of its researchers have received more than one ERC grant.
Five new Consolidator Grants
Five researchers from the University of Helsinki have received the European Research Council’s (ERC) Consolidator Grant in November.
The Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers with at least seven and up to twelve years of experience after PhD, and a scientific track record showing great promise. On this application round, the total of €630 million euros was awarded to 329 top researchers around Europe.
The new ERC grantees at the University of Helsinki are Pipsa Saharinen (Faculty of Medicine), Tuomas Tahko (Faculty of Arts), Jörg Tiedemann (Faculty of Arts), Kaius Tuori (Faculty of Social Sciences) and Sara Wickström (Helsinki Institute for Life Sciences HiLife and Faculty of Medicine).
Read more about the new ERC grantees
University of Helsinki research funded by the European Research Council ERC