60 scientists have been awarded grants worth €150,000 in two rounds of the "Proof of Concept" funding scheme of the European Research Council (ERC). One of the winners is Prof. Janusz Bujnicki from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw.
The European Research Council has announced the results of the last round of the "Proof of Concept" funding scheme. 27 grants have been awarded to scholars who will market their research projects.
In September 2012, 33 scholars were awarded in the first round of the program. Among the winners was Prof. Janusz Bujnicki from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw.
"This second round of \'Proof of concept\' grants is great news, as we need to bring more of our best ideas to market in Europe. This initiative helps ERC grant holders to realise the potential of their breakthroughs and discoveries. Through these grants, and by funding \'blue sky\' research in general, the ERC is helping make Europe more competitive now and for the future"- said Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.
Grants will be transferred to researchers from ten countries in the European Research Area (EU Member States and countries associated with the EU\'s Research Framework Programme). 69 applications were received in the second round of the competition, and 27 winners selected.
"The projects cover a wide range of topics such as innovative drug treatments and new biomaterials, greener and cheaper industrial chemicals, and designing buildings with greater attention to the needs of persons with disabilities" - said Marta Angrocka-Krawczyk of the European Commission Representation Office in Poland.
The European Research Council launched the the "Proof of Concept" scheme in March 2011 to support innovation. The call was addressed to researchers, who are currently ERC grantees, or who were ERC grantees within twelve months before the announcement of the scheme. The funding period is up to one year per grant.
EU\'s European Research Council, founded in 2007, the is the first pan-European body funding pioneering research. In 2007-2013, the organisation had a budget of 7.5 billion euros, but the European Commission has proposed a significant increase, to over 13 billion euros, in the new framework program Horizon 2020 (2014-2020).
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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