ERC - Excellence Grants

The European Research Council (ERC) supports excellent researchers at different stages in their careers for groundbreaking and visionary research.

Starting Grants provide support for promising early career scientists from 2-7 years after PhD defence or 4-9 years after MD*.

Consolidator Grants provide support for excellent researchers from 7-12 years after PhD defence or 9-14 years after MD*.

Advanced Grants are aimed at leading and established researchers who have achieved excellent scientific results in the last 10 years.

Synergy Grants provide support to a group of 2 to 4 excellent researchers regardless of their career stage. The ambitious research project can only be implemented through the specific expertise of the group.

*Reference date to calculate the eligibility window is the 1 January of the year of the call. Exceptions regarding the funding eligibility window can be made under certain conditions.

The following apply to all ERC Research Grants:

• Pioneering research is funded
• There are no prescribed priorities or topics for project ideas: bottom up
• The only selection criteria is scientific excellence

Open and forthcoming:

For further information, follow the links and/or contact us

ERC - Proof of Concept Grants

ERC Proof of Concept Grants allow for verification of innovative potential of ERC project results.

Currently open:

ERC Proof of Concept Grants 2025

ERC grantees can apply for a proof of concept grant during or shortly after their ERC research grant.

Regardless of the actual project costs a flat rate of 150.000 Euro is awarded.

The duration can be up to a maximum of 18 months.

The next deadline is 18 September 2025.

For further information click here and/or contact us .

Support for researcher mobility (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks, Postdoctoral Fellowships, Staff Exchanges)

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme provides funding to support international, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral mobility in research.

Forthcoming:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Postdoctoral Fellowships provide funding for postdoctoral career development through international, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility.

You can apply for a postdoctoral fellowship:

• As a scientific supervisor together with a postdoctoral fellow from abroad for a project in your working group at the UKE, or ·
• If you have recently begun a postdoctoral position at the UKE after having worked or lived abroad for a long time, or
• If you are planning a stay abroad

Depending on the destination country, there are two types of postdoctoral fellowship:

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships for a 12 to 24-month research stay in an EU member state or associated country.
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships for a 12 to 24-month research stay outside of Europe, after which you are obliged to complete a 12-month return phase in a research institution in an EU member state or associated country.

Main points of the call:

• The target group is researchers who hold a PhD and have a maximum of 8 years‘ research experience since completion (extensions can be made under certain conditions).
• The mobility rule applies: Applicants cannot have lived or worked in the country of the host institution for longer than twelve months within the last three years before the deadline for submission.
• The applicant is free to choose the research topic of the proposal.
• The EU funding includes unit costs for the salary of the researchers and for research, training and networking costs in addition to management and indirect costs.
  

For further information click here and/or contact us .

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks

The Doctoral Networks provide funding to develop an international, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral graduate training programme.

You can apply for three different types:

• Standard Doctoral Networks (DN)
• Industrial Doctorates (ID)
• Joint Doctorates (JD)

Main points of the call:

• To be eligible, a consortium needs to have at least three institutions, at least one of which is from an EU member state and two others from different member states or associated countries. For Industrial Doctorates and Joint Doctorates there are further specific requirements.
• The applicants are free to choose the research topic of the proposal.
• The duration for the Doctoral Networks and the Industrial Doctorates can be a maximum of four years and for Joint Doctorates five.
• The EU-funding includes fixed rates for the salary of the PhD students and for training, research, networking and management and indirect costs.

The next deadline is on 25 November 2025.

For further information click here and/or contact us .

Cluster 1 – Health: Information

Regarding further opportunities for collaborative research projects within Pillar II in the Horizon Europe Programme, the second Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025 to 2027 was published in March 2024 and provides the basis for the Work Programme 2025.

This Work Programme will contain the content for the topics for Research and Innovation actions from 2025 and is expected to be published in April 2025.

If you would like to receive more information, please contact us .
For further information, contact us .

Mission Cancer

One novelty of Horizon Europe is it ambitious missions with the aim of finding solutions to greater challenges.

EU Mission: Cancer addresses the topic of cancer and it objectives are understanding, prevention and early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and quality of life of cancer patients and their families.

This Work Programme will contain the content for the topics from 2025 and is expected to be published in April 2025.

For further information, follow the links and/or contact us .

Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) JU Calls

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is a private-public partnership that offers funding for health research and innovation. Projects include both academic and industry partners and should address public health needs, improve the lives of patients and boost the competitiveness of Europe’s health industries.

Open

IHI Call 9 | Deadline 29 April 2025

IHI Call 9 has now launched as a one-stage procedure. Unlike previous calls, it does not provide predefined topics, but it will pilot proposals which are to be driven by applicants.

The information on the applicant-driven call topics is now available for IHI Call 9 .

The project must address one of the five specific objectives set out in the IHI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA).

• Topic 1: Boosting innovation for a better understanding of the determinants of health
• Topic 2: Boosting innovation through better integration of fragmented health R&I efforts
• Topic 3: Boosting innovation for people-centred integrated healthcare solutions
• Topic 4: Boosting innovation through exploitation of digitalisation and data exchange in healthcare
• Topic 5: Boosting innovation for better assessment of the added value of innovative integrated healthcare solutions

For more information on the call or the brokerage tool to find partners, visit: Info session recording and/ or Find partners . You are also welcome to contact us .

IHI Call 10 | Deadline second stage 14 October 2025

IHI Call 10 there are currently three open calls for standard two-stage proposals:

• Topic 1: Digital label-one source of comprehensive information for medical technology products
• Topic 2: Enabling and safeguarding innovation in secondary use of health data in the European Health Data Space (EHDS)
• Topic 3: Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure, emissions, and end of life management in the healthcare sector
  

For further information, visit the IHI-Website and /or contact us .

European Innovation Council (EIC)

The EIC supports breakthrough innovations throughout the lifecycle from early stage research, to proof of concept, technology transfer, and the financing and scale up of start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises.

The EIC Work Programme 2025 is now published and the EIC held an Online Info Day, the recording and slides of which are now available.

EIC Pathfinder Open | Deadline 21 May 2025

The EIC Pathfinder Open has no predefined topics and funds consortia to perform breakthrough research from any field of science or technology. EIC Pathfinder Open supports early stage development of such future technologies (e.g., various activities at low Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 to 4).

Main points:

• Consortia can apply: at least three independent legal entities from three different Member States or Associated Countries
• The recommended budget per proposal is up to EUR 3 million (larger if justified)
• Bottom up approach
• Application procedure is one stage
• Follow the link to the call text

EIC Pathfinder Challenges | Deadline foreseen: 29 October 2025

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges funds cutting edge projects that address one of the four challenges in predefined areas of emerging and strategic technologies.

The four challenges 2025 are:

• Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer;
• Biotech for Climate Resilient Crops and Plant-Based Biomanufacturing;
• Towards autonomous robot collectives delivering collaborative tasks in dynamic unstructured construction environments;
• Waste-to-value devices: Circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials.

Main points:

• Single applicants or consortia
• The recommended budget per proposal is up to EUR 4 million (larger if justified)
• The application procedure is one-stage

EIC Transition programme | Deadline foreseen: 17 September 2025

The EIC Transition programme funds innovation activities that go beyond experimental proof of principle. Both maturation and validation of novel technologies from laboratory to application in the relevant environment, and the development of a business case and business model towards the innovation’s future commercialisation are supported.

Main points:

• Proposals must build on the results of EU-funded projects (e.g. EIC Pathfinder, ERC Proof of concept Grants, Horizon 2020 Societal challenges and Leadership in Industrial Technologies, Horizon Europe pillar II) at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 or 4
• Single applicants or multi-beneficiary small consortia (maximum 5 partners) can apply
• Open call without any predefined thematic priorities
• The recommended budget range per proposal is EUR 0.5 to 2.5 million (larger if justified)
• Project duration of 1 to 3 years
• The application procedure is one-stage, the evaluation process two-stage: evaluation by EIC expert evaluators and, if successful, an interview with the EIC jury members.

For further information, follow the links and/or contact us .

Other clusters and programme parts with health aspects

In addition to the topics under Cluster Health, there are topics among the other clusters and programme parts of Horizon Europe that relate to health and that are thence relevant to the UKE.

The work programmes are currently being finalised and we are expecting the publication of calls in April with deadlines in September 2025. If you would like further information, contact us.

European Rare Disease Alliance (ERDERA)

The European Rare Disease Research Alliance (ERDERA) kicked off in September 2024 and integrates over 170 organisations. The aim is to advance research in rare disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment and to build on the results of other EU-funded projects such as the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases . The first transnational call has now been published, please find details below.

Open:

ERDERA Launches the 2025 Joint Transnational Call for Proposals on Rare Disease Therapies - ERDERA

Main points:

• A consortia must be made up of 4 to 6 partners (eight in certain cases)
• Patient advocacy should be included
• Two stage proposal
• Projects will focus on a group of rare diseases or a single rare disease
• Projects must cover one of five areas
• Please also note the list of excluded approaches and topics

The deadline for the second stage of the proposal is on 09 July 2025.

For further information, contact us .

COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology

COST actions support networks for innovative research activities in Europe.

The main points of the call:

• Funding for network activities regarding research topics that you are free to choose
• To be eligible, a consortium needs to be comprised of at least seven COST members or cooperating members, at least 50% of which need to be from Inclusiveness Target Countries. Participants from non-EU countries are eligible
• The duration of a COST-Action is 4 years
• One-stage application
• The next deadline for submission is on 21 October 2025 at 12 noon (CEST).

For further information, follow the links and/or contact us .