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What Matters for a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant?
1Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants are arguably the most competitive grants in Europe and their prestige is fully justified considering that they (i) allow focus on a high risk/high gain project through generous funding of 1.5-2 million Euros, (ii) they can enable the foundation of a new academic group and earn the submitting principal investigator a professorship, and (iii) they serve as a highly reputable award that can either facilitate tenure/promotion or assist in securing a subsequent academic position. However, the journey to getting one is far from easy. In this Viewpoint Article, I will discuss my first two unsuccessful attempts to secure an ERC Starting Grant and how the lessons learned during the process led me to ultimately secure a grant upon my third attempt.
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