The EU is an economic area, a community of values and a peace project. But what many people don't know is that it is also a pillar of research in Europe. With the Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme, the EU supports scientific excellence and thus helps to overcome the most pressing social challenges.
The EU framework programme consists of three pillars. The first, ‘Excellent Science’, focuses on basic research, research excellence and the promotion of young scientists. The second pillar, ‘Societal Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness’, addresses current global challenges such as climate change and health. The third, ‘Innovative Europe’, promotes economic competitiveness and the implementation of technological innovations from idea to market launch.
Increased funding
Researchers at the University of Graz are very successful in all three areas. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the funding commitments in the ERC (European Research Council) and MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) excellence programmes. Since 2019, the annual grants to the University of Graz from Horizon funds have increased from almost three million euros to over 7.6 million euros.
The group led by Katalin Barta Weissert is one example of what this money can achieve. The chemists are developing innovative, bio-based plastics. In the ‘PureSurf’ project, sustainable surfactants for detergents are being developed, for which the team was able to secure an EIC Transition Grant from the third pillar.
Another example is the research of linguist Bernhard Bauer. The humanities scholar is conducting research at the Centre for Information Modelling and is using digitally supported data analysis to search for traces of the Celtic language in the ‘Glossit’ project.
Climate research and postdocs
Researchers at the University of Graz are also very successful in the second pillar. This applies, for example, to the areas of climate, energy and mobility or health. Among other things, this involves questions such as: What is the best method for recycling lithium-ion batteries or what steps are necessary to adapt our society to the new climatic conditions – at all levels from municipalities to companies.
A particular highlight is the University of Graz's Marie Curie Initiative. This initiative has enabled the University of Graz to greatly increase its success in acquiring MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF). The MSCA PF programme enables international postdocs to conduct research in Graz for up to two years. Currently, five researchers are at the University of Graz as part of this programme. In previous years, several scholarship holders were also able to obtain funding for follow-up projects and continue their work at the University of Graz. This is how research in Europe is sustainably secured.