The European Commission’s ERC Starting Grant supports researchers in an early career phase so that, as project managers, they can, among other things, set up their own working groups for the award-winning research project. Almost 29 million euros were raised for Austria as a science location through the Starting Grants. Eight of these were acquired from researchers in the life sciences sector. Another seven grants go to researchers in the fields of physics and engineering, and four grants were awarded in the field of social sciences and humanities. The topics of the funded projects are correspondingly diverse. The projects include questions from quantum computer science, cancer research and biomaterials research as well as forest biodiversity, bee research, migration research and religious politics in antiquity.
The University of Vienna was particularly successful with a total of four grants. Three grants each go to the Technical University of Vienna and the Institute of Molecular Pathology, two grants each to the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). In addition, the Graz University of Technology, the University of Graz, the University of Innsbruck, the University of Continuing Education Krems and the University of Linz each received a grant.
“I congratulate everyone involved on their pioneering work in their fields. This success gives Austria’s research profile even more visibility on the world stage. What is particularly pleasing is that more than half of the Austrian grants were acquired by women,” congratulates the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research , Martin Polaschek.
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