Additional opportunities

You can develop your career through public funding linked to ERC projects, even if you do not receive an ERC Grant.

There are 4 routes for this:

  • Jobs in ERC teams: Recipients of ERC grants can use their funding to recruit other researchers and team members for their project. On average, each team has 4-5 members. Since its inception, ERC funding has helped create jobs for thousands of researchers.
     
  • Visiting Fellowships Programmes: Several European countries fund research visits to established ERC projects develop researchers’ potential before they apply for their first ERC grant.
     
  • Implementing Arrangements: International agreements with non-EU funding agencies and science ministries to support researchers to temporarily join ERC teams in Europe.
     
  • Mentoring Initiative : the mentoring initiative will boost existing support programmes for ERC applicants by helping to identify international experts to provide coaching and advice.
     

Jobs in ERC teams
 

Who can apply?
 

Conditions vary according to the position offered.


How to apply?
 

Look for jobs on the EURAXESS portal, using the European Research Council (ERC) filter. Jobs in ERC-funded projects might also be published without the ERC tag and can be advertised on other websites and in journals.

If you find a job that interests you, apply to the Principal Investigator (PI) at the institution hosting the project — the Host Institution — using the contact details in the job advertisement.

If you need to relocate to another country to pursue your research career, your local or regional EURAXESS centre can also provide advice on matters such as visa formalities, work permits, accommodation and social security for countries in Europe.

ERC for Ukraine. The ERC has appealed to its grantees to provide temporary employment to refugee researchers and support staff, such as technician and lab managers, from Ukraine. Check the ERC for Ukraine job offers.
 

Visiting Fellowships Programmes
 

Visiting  Fellowship Programmes are available via national or regional funding agencies. Funding covers all costs of the research visit including salary, travel and subsistence costs. However, you must apply for an ERC grant after the visit within a time specified in your funding agreement.


Who can apply?
 

Conditions vary according to each national or regional funding agency’s requirements and the positions available in ERC research teams.

 

Visiting Fellowship Programmes currently in place

 

National and/or regional authorities who want to set up a programme can consult the guidelines. New programmes are added to this scheme after endorsement by the ERC Scientific Council.


How to apply?
 

Opportunities to visit ERC-funded projects are available following ERC calls for Principal Investigators (PIs) to express an interest in hosting visiting research fellows. The ERC then sends each funding agency a list of interested PIs, with a description of their projects.

Step by step
  • Check for yourself whether you are eligible under one of the national funding programmes
  • Follow the instruction published by the relevant funding agencies and ask for the list of interested ERC PIs.
  • If you are eligible, the agency will provide you with the list.
  • You can then contact a participating ERC PI to express an interest in visiting their research team.
  • When you and the ERC PI have agreed on the details of the visit, the Host Institution will provide you with a ‘letter of intent’ or ‘support letter’ on behalf of the PI to support your application for funding to the relevant agency. 
  • Apply directly to the funding agency.
  • The funding agency will evaluate all the applications and fund the successful one.

Send any general questions about the implementation of these programmes to erc-visiting-fellowship-programmes@ec.europa.eu. Send specific questions about how to apply or your application to your local funding agency.

Each funding agency follows its own criteria and procedure for selecting scientists for funding under their Implementing Arrangement. The ERC does not intervene in this selection.

The first call to PIs for expressions of interest was launched on 1 September 2016. Further calls are expected to take place every year in June.

Implementing Arrangements 

 

Implementing Arrangements funding is available via national non-EU funding agencies. These can be national funding bodies or science ministries. Non-EU funding agencies cover salary and travel costs.

Who can apply?

 

You can be of any age and work in any discipline as long as you are a scientist supported by non-European funding agencies.

Conditions vary according to funding agency’s requirements and the positions available in ERC research teams.

 Implementing Arrangements currently in place:
 

  • Argentina

    Signed in March 2015 with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation
    Read more: agreement ES|EN, press highlight
    For the interested CONICET-funded scientists, see more here
     
  • Australia

    Signed in February 2019 with the Australian Research Council (ARC)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

    Signed in October 2018 with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight
     
  • Brazil

    Signed in October 2016 with the Brazilian National Council of the State funding agencies (CONFAP)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight, leaflet
     
  • Canada


    Signed in March 2024 with the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

  • China

    Signed in June 2015 with the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) 
    Read more: agreement ZH|EN, press highlight
    For interested NSFC-funded scientists, see more here
     
  • India

    Signed in October 2020 with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

    Signed in October 2017 with the Scientific Engineering Research Board (SERB)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight
     
  • Japan

    Signed in November 2020 with the Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) of Japan
    Read more: agreement EN, press highlight

    Signed in October 2018 with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) 
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

    Signed in May 2015 with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) 
    Read more: agreement EN, press highlight
    For the interested JSPS-fellows, see more here
     
  • Korea

    Signed in November 2013 with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
    Read more: agreement, press highlight
     
  • Mexico

    Signed in November 2015 with the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt)
    Read more: agreement ES|EN, press highlight
     
  • Singapore

    Signed in October 2019 with the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight
     
  • South Africa

    Signed in October 2015 with the National Research Foundation (NRF)
    Read more: agreement
     

  •  Thailand

    Signed in September 2022 with the Programme Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B)
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

  • United States

    Signed in July 2012 with the National Science Foundation (NSF),and renewed in October 2019
    Read more: agreement, press highlight

 

How to apply?
 

Positions in ERC-funded projects are available following ERC calls for Principal Investigators (PIs) to express an interest in hosting scientists supported by non-European funding agencies. The ERC then sends each funding agency a listing of interested PIs or teams, with a description of their projects. 

Step by step PI 
  • Check for yourself whether you are eligible for funding under one of the Implementing Arrangements.
  • Follow the instruction published by the relevant funding agencies and ask for the list of interested ERC PIs. 
  • If you are eligible, the agency will provide you with the list.
  • You can then contact a participating ERC PI  to express an interest in visiting their research team.
  • When you and the ERC PI have agreed on the details of the visit, the Host Institution will provide you with a ‘letter of intent’ or ‘support letter’ on behalf of the PI to support your application for funding to the relevant agency.
  • Apply directly to the funding agency

  • The funding agency will evaluate all the applications and fund the successful one.

 

Send any general questions about the implementation of these programmes to ERC-IMPLEMENTING-ARRANGEMENTS@ec.europa.eu. Send specific questions about how to apply or your application to the relevant funding agency.

Each funding agency follows its own criteria and procedure for selecting scientists for funding under their Implementing Arrangement. The ERC does not intervene in this selection.

Calls for expression of interest to PIs normally take place in November each year. PIs with main grants (Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants and Advanced Grants) and Synergy Grants that have at least 18 months until the end of the project are eligible. 

 

ERC Mentoring Initiatives currently in place



ERC Mentoring Initiative is available via local offices in the EU Member States and Associated Countries whose mentoring requests were accepted by the ERC. 

Who can apply?
 

The ERC Mentoring Initiative targets local offices in the EU Member States and Associated Countries that organise, region/nation-wide, hands-on sessions for pre-selected PIs preparing an ERC research proposal.

ERC support will consist of identifying ERC grantees and former panel members who could serve as external mentors to help the pre-selected PIs to strengthen the quality of their application, enabling them to get expert scientific feedback on their proposal (or mock interviews) before submission. National/regional offices are envisaged to participate.

The programme is not intended to serve individual research organisations.

Conditions for PIs preparing an ERC research proposal vary according to each national/regional office’s requirements and the potential mentors identified by ERC.

Currently, the following ERC Mentoring Initiatives are in place:

  • Cyprus - Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF)
     
  • Czech Republic - Czech National Expert Group (NEG) for the ERC 
     
  • Estonia - Estonian Research Council (ETAg)
     
  • Georgia - Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG)
     
  • Hungary - Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA)
     
  • Italy - National Research Council (CNR)
     
  • Latvia - Latvian Council of Science (LCS)
     
  • Luxembourg - LUXINNOVATION
     
  • Malta - Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST)
     
  • Poland - Poland - National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), National Science Centre (NCN), the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP), and National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA)
     
  • Slovakia - Horizon National Office - Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (CVTI SR)
     
  • Turkey - Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)
     
  • Ukraine - HE Office in Ukraine - National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU)

Further initiatives of this kind will be added in the future.
 

How to apply?


National/regional offices

National and/or regional offices who want to benefit from this initiative can consult the guidelines.

The local offices in charge of the national/regional support programme should coordinate their participation in the ERC Mentoring Initiative with the National Contact Points; National Contact Points will serve as the primary contact to the ERC concerning the local offices.

The proposal of maximum two pages should include:

  • General information on the office and on the type of support provided to potential ERC applicants;
  • Motivation for participating in the ERC Mentoring Initiative.

A new call for expression of interest for national/regional offices to participate in the initiative will be announced here in the future. Interested national and/or regional offices will submit proposals to participate in the ERC Mentoring Initiative to their National Contact Point.

National Contact Points should submit proposal on behalf of national/regional offices to the mailbox: ERC-MENTORING-INITIATIVE@ec.europa.eu. Send any general questions about the implementation of these programmes to ERC-MENTORING-INITIATIVE@ec.europa.eu. 

PIs preparing an ERC research proposal

PIs preparing an ERC proposal can send specific questions about how to get mentoring for their ERC application to their national/regional office.
 
Each national/regional office follows its own criteria and procedure for selecting PIs. The ERC does not intervene in this selection.
 

EIC Tech to Market programme

 

ERC Proof of Concept grantees who are also eligible for European Innovation Council Transition Grants in 2024 can now also avail of the EIC Tech to Market programme can now also avail of the EIC Tech to Market programme. It aims to support innovative researchers in their transition from lab to market, with free training provided by experienced mentors, experts, investors and market representatives. For information about upcoming training courses, as well as deadlines for expressions of interest, visit the EIC Community.