Bern, Sept 05, 2025.- Three outstanding research projects: of a total of 3,928 project proposals submitted to this year’s call for Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC), three projects from Bern will receive funding. The total funding amount for the Bernese researchers is around 5,1 million Swiss francs.
As part of the Horizon Europe program, the European Research Council (ERC) supports groundbreaking projects by outstanding young researchers with ERC Starting Grants. In fall 2024, researchers from Switzerland were able to apply again for the highly competitive ERC research funding, from which they had been excluded since 2021. This was made possible by progress in the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU. By the end of the year, Switzerland’s association to Horizon Europe is set to be formalized.
Good conditions for cutting-edge research
In this year’s call for proposals for ERC Starting Grants, over 3,928 applications were submitted, of which 478 projects will receive funding of around 761 million Euros. These grants are intended for researchers who wish to carry out an independent research project with their own team.
«It is extremely satisfying that ERC grants are once again being awarded to researchers from Swiss institutions, and that three are going to the University of Bern”, says Hugues Abriel, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation of the University of Bern. “The opportunity to apply for ERC grants is also important for the University of Bern’s attractiveness in the European competition for young researchers,» Abriel adds.
The three award-winning projects deal with politico-legal aspects of climate protests in Europe, predatory bacteria as ‘living antibiotics’ and marine climate tipping points.