IST Austria welcomes expansion of the European Research Council (ERC)

The Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria) warmly welcomes the EU’s financial plans for research and innovation for the years 2021–2027; the numbers were presented last week by EU-Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas in Brussels. Of note is the planned endowment of 25.8 billion euros for the “Open Science” initiative, a key part of the Horizon Europe program. The European Research Council, the model of success for managing funding for excellent, basic research, will also be expanded further. According the numbers presented last week, the ERC will receive a total of 16.6 billion euros over the course of 2021–2027. “With their recommendations, the EU Commission has demonstrated its recognition of the effectiveness the ERC, and the ERC’s impact on Europe. Not only will top researchers have additional opportunities to receive ERC funding, a strong and functional European Research Council is key to the future development of IST Austria,” says Tom Henzinger, President of IST Austria, following the announcement of the EU’s budget plans for the area of research and innovation.

Research began at the Institute’s campus in Klosterneuburg, near Vienna, in 2009. Since that time, IST Austria has received nearly 110 million euros in third-party research funding. More than 70 percent of this comes from EU sources, such as the ERC and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. “IST Austria has a performance-dependent budget, and without these highly competitive research funds from Brussels, the Institute’s successful development would not have been possible,” adds Tom Henzinger.

The proposed budget would play a key role in the further development of European research, and would increase European global competitiveness. “A strong ERC adds significantly to Europe’s ability to attract talent in science and research. Without question, the potential for cutting-edge research is here. A further expansion of the ERC, as proposed by the European Commission, will support our efforts to become a center for top scientists and top science,” concludes Tom Henzinger.