Call Starting & Consolidator Grant 2021

Talent@UniPD: Call Starting & Consolidator Grant 2021

The Talent @UniPD Programme offers support in preparing for the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls 2021

The Talents @UniPD programme is aimed at identifying outstanding candidates for the “ERC Starting Grant 2021" and the “ERC Consolidator Grant 2021" calls, funded by the European Commission Framework programme Horizon Europe, with deadlines March 9th, 2021, and April 20th, 2021, respectively.

Talent @Unipd is a scouting initiative promoted by the University of Padova towards the ERC. Selected participants will be supported at each stage of their ERC proposal preparation and submission. Principal Investigators who should be funded by the ERC will be offered a variety of benefits, which are set according to the University current regulations.

What does the ERC fund?

The ERC mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence.

How does the profile of the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grant Principal Investigator look like?

PIs are expected to have produced significant publications as main authors in major international peer-reviewed scientific journals as main author and without the participation of their PhD supervisor. The results obtained by the PI, detailed in his/her CV, must show the potential for research independence and the capacity to carry out original research.

Other recurring features of PIs funded by the ERC:

a record of invited presentations in well-established international conferences
international prizes/awards
research periods spent in top-rated institutions
recipient of research grants as PI
high values of bibliometric indicators (e.g. h-index, number of attracted citations, etc.), compared with the average values of the candidate’s research field.

PIs may be researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD, or equivalent degree, for the Starting Grant, and 7-12 years of experience for the Consolidator Grant. Extensions are possible, e.g. for maternity/paternity leave, long-term illness, national military service, clinical training.PIs are expected to have produced significant publications as main authors in major international peer-reviewed scientific journals as main author and without the participation of their PhD supervisor. The results obtained by the PI, detailed in his/her CV, must show the potential for research independence and the capacity to carry out original research.Other recurring features of PIs funded by the ERC:

a record of invited presentations in well-established international conferences

international prizes/awards

research periods spent in top-rated institutions

recipient of research grants as PI

high values of bibliometric indicators (e.g. h-index, number of attracted citations, etc.), compared with the average values of the candidate’s research field.

How to participate in the Talent@Unipd Call (deadline: 28 September 2020)

If your profile meets the above mentioned requirements and you intend to choose the University of Padova as Host Institution for your ERC grant application, send us an email no later than 28 September 2020 (international.research@unipd.it) and include the following attachments:

your CV and track record
an abstract of max. 2000 characters of your project idea,
the ‘Commitment of the PI’ form, duly signed

All documents will be treated confidentially.

Any incomplete application and/or CV and track record that are non-compliant with the provided templates will be rejected.

your CV and track record

an abstract of max. 2000 characters of your project idea,

the ‘Commitment of the PI’ form, duly signed

All documents will be treated confidentially.Any incomplete application and/or CV and track record that are non-compliant with the provided templates will be rejected.

Support offered by the University of Padova International Research Office

The most promising candidates, after approval of the hosting Department, will benefit of the following consulting services:

A) Proposal Writing

CV and project proposal enhancement through focused meetings with experts
Support during each stage of the proposal preparation (part B1 and B2). Full review of draft proposals
Budget definition and resources justification

B) If your proposal is retained for step 2 of the evaluation process and you are invited to the interview

Training course and mock interview coaching carried out in collaboration with a qualified expert team
Intensive English course (if necessary)

C) If you are funded by the ERC and carry out your project at UNIPD

You will be offered a tenure track position or permanent position at the University of Padova and a set of benefits determined by current regulations (DM 635/2016 art. 7,2). The position offered to ERC awardees will be agreed with their Hosting Department.
You will be supported in the negotiation phase with ERCEA and in the management and reporting of the project, in cooperation with the Hosting Department.

D) If the project has received an “A” score, but will not be funded due to the limited budget of ERC

The University of Padova offers the possibility to apply for alternative funding under the Supporting TAlent in ReSearch @University of Padova - STARS Grants (Wild Cards category): https://www.unipd.it/stars.

For further information, please contact us: international.research@unipd.it

The most promising candidates, after approval of the hosting Department, will benefit of the following consulting services:A) Proposal Writing

CV and project proposal enhancement through focused meetings with experts

Support during each stage of the proposal preparation (part B1 and B2). Full review of draft proposals

Budget definition and resources justification

B) If your proposal is retained for step 2 of the evaluation process and you are invited to the interview

Training course and mock interview coaching carried out in collaboration with a qualified expert team

Intensive English course (if necessary)

C) If you are funded by the ERC and carry out your project at UNIPD

You will be offered a tenure track position or permanent position at the University of Padova and a set of benefits determined by current regulations (DM 635/2016 art. 7,2). The position offered to ERC awardees will be agreed with their Hosting Department.

You will be supported in the negotiation phase with ERCEA and in the management and reporting of the project, in cooperation with the Hosting Department.

D) If the project has received an “A” score, but will not be funded due to the limited budget of ERC

The University of Padova offers the possibility to apply for alternative funding under the Supporting TAlent in ReSearch @University of Padova - STARS Grants (Wild Cards category): https://www.unipd.it/stars.