In the area of research, the University of Padua (Unipd) plays a leading role in promoting scientific, technological and social innovation programmes. In particular, it intends to

• Foster excellence in all areas of science and firmly invests in multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity;
• Increase its capacity to attract the most talented and promising researchers
• Promote the successful participation of researchers and research groups in competitive calls for research funding, with a focus on EU grant opportunities.

In accordance with the strategic objectives mentioned above, an overarching Talent in Research Programme was launched in 2017 as a set of 4 complementary initiatives, all aiming to attract outstanding post-doc researchers choosing Padua as the host institution for their most promising and ground-breaking research ideas:

Supporting TAlent in ReSearch at the University of Padua – STARS Grants finances individual bottom-up research projects proposed by ERC bound scientists and runs every two years. The programme is directly inspired by the ERC application and selection procedures: projects are evaluated based on their innovative nature, ambition and feasibility. PIs are rewarded for their scientific skills, creativity and commitment.

MSCA Seal of Excellence @Unipd, with an annual budget of up to 1.6 million Euros, offers alternative funding for projects receiving the Seal of Excellence under the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship Calls. The University of Padua was the first in Europe to financially support the MSCA SoE and has now more than 30 SoE grantees.

MAster your Research and Training Needs – MSCA Marathon @Unipd is an intensive training offered yearly to up to 40 international post-doctoral researchers applying for the MSCA Postdoctoral Calls and selecting Unipd as Host Institution.

Talent @Unipd aims at scouting ERC applicants worldwide and, through the EU_Research_Hub @Unipd, a team of dedicated research advisors working at the International Research Office, offers guidance in writing, submitting and effectively defending project proposals.