ERC chief to visit India

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of European Research Council (ERC), will visit India next week to raise awareness among top Indian scientists about funding opportunities in Europe.
The ERC delegation will visit several top universities and research institutes in Bengaluru and New Delhi such as the Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research from May 23 to 27.
They will also present funding up to 2.5 million euro (around Rs 18.75 crore) per grant to both researchers and university representatives.
The team will meet officials from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of S&T (DBT) to discuss ways to promote greater scientific exchange between ERC grantees and Indian researchers.

"For the ERC it is key to successfully encourage more scientific exchange between Indian and European top researchers, with the purpose of spurring new ideas and sharing expertise that ultimately will open the way to ground-breaking discoveries," a statement from the European Union said.
Bourguignon will also participate in the Global Research Council (GRC) meeting from May 26 to 27, for the first time being held in New Delhi and co-hosted by Indian and British research funding agencies.

The GRC is a discussion forum for heads of research funding agencies from around the world to share best practice and learn from each other.

"The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the first European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Since 2007, the ERC has awarded nearly 11 billion euro (around INR 82,500 crore) to more over 6,000 scientists and scholars from all over the world, both early-career and senior.
Of these, 34 are Indian researchers working in prestigious institutions across Europe. The ERC wishes to see this number increase," the statement added.