European Research Council (ERC)

The first round of the 2026 ERC Proof of Concept Grant results is out! 🎉 182 researchers receive a total of €27.3 million to explore the commercial and societal potential of their ERC-funded findings. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4vD2uH6 #ERCPoC #FrontierResearch

📢 The new #ERCMagazine is out! Who defines the question? Who owns the data? Who benefits? This edition explores how equity is woven into excellent frontier science, with concrete examples from the field. 👉 link.europa.eu/JFFYYH #FrontierResearch @EUScienceInnov @EU_JRC

The ERC was pleased to have been able to support both Professor Hill's #FrontierResearch at @UniofOxford from 2012 to 2017 and Prof Mottonen's research @AaltoUniversity from 2021 to now. More on these projects: 👉 link.europa.eu/mPm6DX 👉 link.europa.eu/9JJj3Y.

Congratulations to Sir Adrian Hill and Mikko Mottonen, both recognised in the @EPOorg's 2026 European #InventorAward category for research. Professor Hill won the category and Professor Mottonen was shortlisted.

How can materials learn to respond to external stimuli such as light? Meet Arri Priimägi, Ambassador for the ERC from Finland 🇫🇮 , who leads the Smart Photonic Materials research group at Tampere University! 🔗 bit.ly/4vhanla #Amb4ERC #FrontierResearch

The Imagine Adaptation researchers propose that for climate adaptation to work, we need to recognize everyday actions alongside formal plans. & that listening to lived experience and local knowledge is essential for more equitable and effective responses. imagineadapt.bc3research.org

Feeling the heat? We all want to protect ourselves, but the weather also prompts thoughts of climate change. How, when and why does the average person start to adapt to climate change? #FrontierResearch @BC3Research youtube.com/watch?v=t-gLPy…

How do roots avoid decaying plant material? Jiri Friml @ISTA_ac_at describes a newly identified root response, called saprotropism, showing how plants sense acidity changes in the soil and adjust their growth direction accordingly. Learn more 🔗 link.europa.eu/xvdmfh

🔍What will make Europe the best place for the next generation of researchers? That was one of the questions of last week's event, 'Towards a European Fifth Freedom and Global Competition'. 📽️ 👉 bit.ly/4vQtsuV #FifthFreedom #EUResearch @Leopoldina

🎉Two weeks to go until #GeracaoCiencia Festival 2026! Meet our ERC-funded researchers and explore cutting-edge science through free activities for all ages. 🗓️ 24–25/07 📍 #PavilhaodoConhecimento, Lisbon 🔗 bit.ly/ERCatGenScience All activities in 🇵🇹 #CienciaViva #30Anos

📢 The ERC is inviting expressions of interest for a science communication training for current ERC grantees! 🗓️ 9 November 2026 📍 Brussels 💬 Interactions with journalists • Relations with policymakers • Social media • AI ⏳ Apply by 24 August 2026: link.europa.eu/fKvRBw

Live from The Hague! 🇳🇱 Listen to Minister @MinisterOCW, Nobel laureate Ben Feringa, President Maria Leptin and many more. Join us online: 🎥 eur.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/… ‘Mission FP10: Curiosity, Values, and Freedom at the Core of Europe’s Future’ Thanks to our host! 🇪🇺

How do tumours influence the healthy cells around them? Arkaitz Carracedo & Perez Fernando Calvo look into cancer-associated fibroblasts, aiming to provide insights into the tumour microenvironment & its role in cancer progression. link.europa.eu/tcnkdhcb @CICbioGUNE @IBBTEC

Join the livestream now 🎥 m.youtube.com/watch?v=CUNV83… The Science & Society seminar with a strong lineup of speakers and a topical theme just started! @ERCGrantees

🇳🇱 The Netherlands next - first stop, Radboud University! TUE 7/7 13.30 Topical event with ERC’s Maria Leptin, Karin Roelofs; Heino Falcke; ASML & others. At Donders Institute Livestream from 16.30: ‘How keep frontier research on the agenda’ Info: 🎥 ru.nl/en/donders-ins…

ERC Proof of Concept Grants help researchers turn frontier research into real-world solutions. Projects announced earlier this week range from new approaches to cancer and epilepsy treatment to advanced bioinspired materials. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/4vD2uH6 #ERCPoC

Did you know? 🔹 > 500 ERC grants have been awarded to US scientists and scholars working in Europe. 🔹 57 principal investigators based in the US are currently part of ERC-funded Synergy Grant teams, showing that excellent research increasingly spans continents. #USA250 🇺🇸🇪🇺

Happy Independence Day to everyone celebrating in the United States, and congratulations on #USA250 🇺🇸 Curiosity knows no borders and international collaboration remains essential to advancing frontier research. Greetings to our American colleagues, partners and friends!

Meet Bertil Tungodden, Ambassador for the ERC from Norway 🇳🇴 As Professor of Economics @NHHnor, Bertil explores how people understand fairness, inequality and moral responsibility. Last week, he was awarded his second ERC Advanced Grant. 🔗 bit.ly/4vTAOO0 #Amb4ERC

What does the universe really tell us about time? ⏱️✨ ERC‑funded Silvia De Bianchi @LaStatale brings physics and philosophy together to rethink time itself – from Plato’s 'absolute present' to black holes and the birth of spacetime. Read more 👉 bit.ly/3QUff11

As Ireland 🇮🇪 takes on the EU Presidency, Luke O’Neill (ERC Scientific Council) explains why public engagement makes science something people can see, feel and trust 🔗 bit.ly/4g8T8OB Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s ERC Public engagement award winners 🎉