Online workshops for ERC applicants: registration opens 10/3/2025

The Technology Centre Prague together with the Expert Group for supporting ERC applicants organise Workshops for applicants for the European Research Council (ERC) grants.

First part:
► 15., 16. and 17. 4. 2025
Second part:
► In the week 12. – 16. 5. 2025 (to be specified).
Third part:
► In the week 23. – 27. 6. 2025 (to be specified) for the ERC Starting Grants applicants
► In the week 22. – 26. 9. 2025 (to be specified) for the ERC Consolidator Grants applicants

The workshops are organised online in English.
First information about this year’s workshops.
Detailed information and links for registration.
Instructions for applicants.

The workshops are open only to ERC applicants (Principal Investigators, PIs) who already work on their grant proposal which they intend to submit to the call:

• ERC Starting Grants 2026 – probable deadline in October 2025
• ERC Consolidator Grants 2026 – probable deadline at the end of 2025 or in early 2026

Registration will open on 10. 3. 2025 at 12:00 (noon). The participants will have to fill in the online registration form and then send to the workshops organisers a document containing the abstract, CV and Track record written according to the ERC rules – if this document is of a low quality, the PI may not be admitted to the workshop.

We highly recommend to register and send the required document as soon as possible after the registration opens, because participants will be accepted on the “first-come, first-served” basis.

If you plan to apply for ERC Starting Grant or ERC Consolidator Grant, we highly recommend participation in the workshops.

If you plan to register for the workshop, please, contact as soon as possible the Project Management Department (Ludmila Součková, ludmila.souckova@natur.cuni.cz) – we’ll send to you the last version of ERC template and rules, and recommendations, how to write the document for the workshops.

Before sending the document to the workshops organisers, please, send us the document for consultation (at ludmila.souckova@natur.cuni.cz) – by 3. 3. 2025 or earlier – to make your subsequent participation in the workshops as beneficial to you as possible.

Workshop registration requirements

Based on previous experience, we expect the registration form will require i.a. the following information:

• Type of grant the PI plans to apply for (Starting or Consolidator)
• The ERC evaluation panel the PI plans to apply in (see e.g. the ERC Work Programme 2025, Annex 1, pp. 65)
• Preliminary title and acronym of the project

The document sent to the workshop organisers will have to contain the following – written according to the ERC rules and using the ERC template:

• Draft abstract of the planned proposal (up to 2 000 characters including spaces)
• Curriculum vitae and Track Record of the PI (4 pages)

Before the third part of the workshop – by the end of May for Starting, by the end of August for Consolidator applicants – PI will have to submit to the workshop organisers the draft of the Part B1 of their planned proposal which will include:

• Title and acronym
• (Improved) Abstract (up to 2 000 characters including spaces)
• Extended Synopsis of the scientific proposal (5 pages)
• (Improved) Curriculum vitae and Track Record of the PI (4 pages)

What is ERC?

Research funded by the ERC is expected to lead to advances at the frontiers of knowledge and to set a clear and inspirational target for frontier research across Europe. The grants support excellent Principal investigators (PIs) and their research teams. The PI must demonstrate ground-breaking nature of the proposal, it must not be a mere continuation of previous achievements. The proposal must have the potential to significantly influence the relevant research field, push its boundaries or open new research perspectives. The ERC research grants operate on a “bottom-up” basis without predetermined priorities. An ERC grant gives the PI long-term funding with high flexibility.

• ERC Starting Grants support PIs 2-7 years after PhD who are starting their own independent research team or programme. Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 1.5 million for a period of 5 years.
• ERC Consolidator Grants support PIs 7-12 years after PhD who are still consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 2 million for a period of 5 years.
• ERC Advanced Grants support internationally recognised PIs (usually more than 12 years after PhD) who are significantly influencing their research field. Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 2.5 million for a period of 5 years.
• ERC Synergy Grants support multidisciplinary projects of 2-4 PIs. Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 10 million for a period of 6 years.
• ERC Proof of Concept Grants support successful ERC grantees to verify innovation potential of results or ideas arising from a funded ERC project.

If you plan or consider applying for any ERC grant even in a longer time frame (e.g. in 1–2 years), please do already now contact the Project Management Department (Ludmila Součková, ludmila.souckova@natur.cuni.cz), so that you can take advantage of the support offered to ERC applicants.
About ERC on Faculty of Science website

News published by Ludmila Součková on 15. 1. 2025.
Updated 16. 1. 2025 (expected requirements for registration and basic information about the other ERC grants added).
Updated 7. 3. 2025 (link to detailed instructions and to registration).

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