Madrid, 8 November 2023.
Crue Universidades Españolas has organised a meeting with the President of the European Research Council (ERC), Maria Leptin, next Friday, 17 November, in the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Psychology of the UNED, in Madrid. The meeting, to which the Vice-Rectors for Research and Internationalisation of Spanish universities have been invited, will be held from 11:00 to 12:30 and will be chaired by the Rector of the UNED and President of Crue’s Sectorial Commission for Internationalisation and Cooperation, Ricardo Mairal.
This meeting is organised in the framework of the discussions that are being initiated as part of the negotiation of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) that will follow the current research framework programme, Horizon Europe, as of 2027. Those interested in attending in person should register here.
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the main European funding organisation for excellent research. It funds researchers of any nationality and age to carry out projects across Europe. The current funding framework (2021-2027) has a budget of 16 billion, 17% of the total Horizon Europe budget. Since 2007, the ERC has funded more than 12,000 projects and more than 10,000 researchers.
The ERC offers four main grant programmes: Starting Grants, Consolidation Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional proof-of-concept grant programme, the ERC helps grantees explore the innovation potential of their ideas or research results.
Maria Leptin has been president of the ERC since November 2021 and, prior to taking up this position, was director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) in Heidelberg, Germany, and research group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Leptin is an elected member of EMBO, the European Academy and the German National Academy of Sciences. He is also an honorary member of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of London and the US National Academy of Sciences.
The ERC President will be accompanied by the Spanish scientist Mercedes García Arenal, who is a member of the ERC Scientific Committee.
