Thirteen young Italian researchers with innovative projects in the areas of cancer treatment, earthquake prediction, robotics, materials science and sustainable energy they received over 1,8 million euros in funding laid down by the Cariplo Foundation and from CDP Foundation. These funds were made available through the call "Support for young Italian talents in European Research Council competitions (ERC)”, which supports Italian researchers in the ERC competitions, established in 2007 by the European Union to finance scientific and technological research. This is the second edition of the announcement.
Contribution of up to 150 thousand euros for research
Thanks to the funds allocated by the two Foundations, the winners will have access to financing up to € 150.000. This support will allow them to enhance research projects, establish or consolidate the work team, publish articles in prestigious journals, and participate in training courses at national and international research centers. The ultimate goal is to submit stronger entries to ERC competitions in the future.
36 projects received in this edition
For the second edition of the call, launched in June 2023, they were 36 projects presented, requesting over 5 million euros in funding, compared to 1,8 million euros available. Despite this, the number of funded projects increased from 12 to 13, highlighting strong interest. This increase compared to the first edition, which had allocated 1,35 million euros, was possible thanks to quality of the projects presented.
After a rigorous selection process conducted by the Foundations and by a commission of experts 'ERC grantees', were 13 winners chosen. These researchers come from research institutions and universities in five Italian regions and operate in different sectors of knowledge, from physics and engineering to life and social sciences.
Tempini (CDP Foundation): “support for Italian researchers”
"Support Italian researchers in the consolidation of their projects within the European competitions of prestigious bodies such as the European Research Council means enabling enormous potential not only for our country, but for scientific and technological advancement throughout the world. Our young talents have always stood out for the quality and excellence of their proposals. Through these resources we want to ensure that they have all the useful tools to compete fairly with European colleagues, on topics of fundamental importance such as tumor research or robotics", declared the President of CDP Foundation, Giovanni Gorno Tempini.
“Supporting those who do research in our country is fundamental. It's even more important when it comes to enhance young people. Once again we were able to see the high quality of the projects presented to us. We are proud to see these young people engaged in research in areas in which we have a great need for innovation, for people's health, for the protection of our territory and those who live there, and in many other areas, in which excellent research it can improve everyone's life. It is important that foundations collaborate in carrying out this activity. There partnership with Cdp Foundation it is therefore strategic and valuable because it combines skills and resources, enhancing the commitment and the results that we can achieve together” he commented John Azzone, President of Cariplo Foundation.
