Switzerland and the European Research Council

(admin.ch - The portal of the Swiss government, July 06, 2017)

In 2017, the European Research Council (ERC) turned ten years old. The EU's program aims at reinforcing basic research by awarding grants to excellent researchers in all disciplines doing research in an EU member or associated state. Scientists being based in Switzerland have been particularly successful in receiving funds. Swiss applications have had an approval rate of 24 percent, compared to an 11 percent European average. In total, Switzerland received 520 ERC grants and total funding of about EUR 900 million since 2007. This makes the country being ranked number five behind the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In its anniversary plenary meeting held at CERN in Geneva, the ERC grants’ importance for researchers' scientific career, the quality and the quantity of groundbreaking research projects were highlighted by various guests.