Important updates ERC grants 2025: eligibility of Swiss host institutions

Thanks to the positive progress in the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU, the EU has decided that Swiss-based researchers can participate as “beneficiaries” in the European Research Council's Starting Grant 2025, Synergy Grant 2025 and Consolidator Grant 2025 calls.

The 2024 transitional arrangement has been in force since March 2024 and already enables researchers in Switzerland to submit applications for the ERC 2024 Advanced Grant call for proposals. Access is now being extended to three additional ERC calls: Starting Grant 2025 (opening on 10 July 2024, deadline on 15 October 2025), Synergy Grant 2025 (opening on 11 July 2024, deadline on 06 November 2024) and Consolidator Grant 2025 (opening on 26 September 2024, deadline on 14 January 2025). Proposals of researchers with a host institution located in Switzerland will be entirely evaluated by the ERC Executive Agency. As stated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) in its press release, this important step strengthens both Switzerland and Europe as centres of research and innovation. SERI additionally stresses that Switzerland continues to strive for the full activation of the transitional arrangement for 2025. The Federal Council's overarching goal is to achieve association to the entire Horizon package at the earliest opportunity.

USI perspective

USI welcomes this additional step towards a full association: the access to the prestigious, highly competitive ERC grants is a further recognition of Switzerland’s strong position within the European research landscape. Participation to these international programmes is of utmost importance for Swiss-based researchers, as they allow fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchanges, in order to advance and maintain high-level, quality research and tackle global challenges in a collaborative way. This is also underlined by Patrick Gagliardini, Pro-Rector for Research, who expresses his "clear satisfaction at the opening of the next ERC calls for proposals to researchers at Swiss universities", emphasising the "great relevance of these instruments for the promotion of talent, the funding of research, and the positive impact on innovation in Switzerland".