These grants, considered to be among the most prestigious in Europe, distinguish projects of excellence and recognise researchers who stand out for their innovative and potentially transformative ideas.
On this National Day for Scientific Culture in Portugal, we would like to highlight the fundamental role that the ERC Grants play in the panorama of Science and Innovation at Universidade de Lisboa.
The ERC Grants were created in 2007 by the European Research Council and Universidade de Lisboa is the university with the most grants in Portugal, with around 50 grants totaling close to 80 million euros.
These grants represent more than 25% of the national total, a figure that demonstrates the role of Universidade de Lisboa as a driver of innovation and knowledge in Portugal and Europe.
The funded projects contribute to advances in areas such as health, natural sciences, social sciences and engineering. In the words of Professor Cecília Rodrigues, Vice-Rector of ULisboa, the ERC grants allow “frontier, high-risk research with great potential for innovation and scientific impact” to be carried out.
ULisboa is committed to strengthening participation in competitive programmes, promoting dissemination actions, training and personalised support. ULisboa regularly organises initiatives aimed at those applying for grants of excellence, such as the ERC, in close collaboration with experts in attracting European funding.
In the video, we highlight some of the projects that have benefited from this funding: Edgar Gomes (GIMM, School of Medicine from ULisboa), Inês Fragata (School of Science from ULisboa), Marco Piccardo (INESC-MN, Instituto Superior Técnico of ULisboa) and Marina Costa Lobo (Institute of Social Sciences of ULisboa) give us an insight into the role of these grants in the research carried out at ULisboa.
