Apply for an ERC Grant

ERC at Ghent University

Over the years, Ghent University has established an attractive ERC incentive policy. If your ERC proposal is successful, you will automatically be offered a professorship for a minimum of 10 years. This position initially comprises a 10% professorship alongside a 90% postdoctoral contract. This unique arrangement grants you most of the rights associated with a regular professor, allowing you to pursue independent research, apply for research funding in Flanders, and access non-competitive funding from the university.

There is also the potential for this temporary professorship to transition into a permanent 100% professorial position. This extension is contingent upon a positive evaluation after several years, as well as alignment with the faculty’s personnel and research policy plans.

For more senior candidates, it is occasionally possible to be granted an immediate permanent professorship. This is rare and typically depends on specific conditions, such as alignment with prioritized research domains in the faculty's policy plans. We encourage you to consult your department chair to determine your eligibility.

How to Apply

Because we always offer a (temporary) professorial position to ERC grantees, the faculty requires candidates to undergo an internal approval process before being allowed to submit their ERC proposal. This pre-selection process ensures that candidates meet the faculty’s standards for integration into the institution.

1. Initial Contact

External researchers interested in applying for an ERC grant within the faculty should first contact the chair of the relevant department (you can find a list of all chairs here). This initial discussion will cover your research domain, experience, and the potential for integration within the department. The department chair will assess how your expertise aligns with the faculty’s long-term goals.

2. Departmental and Faculty Approval

If mutual interest is established, you will be asked to complete this applicant form. The department will review your application and submit it to the Faculty Council for final approval.

3. Support During Submission

Once your application is approved, the university’s EU team will assist you in preparing your ERC dossier. They offer feedback and guidance throughout the submission process to ensure your proposal meets ERC standards.

For more detailed information about this pre-selection process, please contact the faculty coordinator for ERC or visit our internal webpage (accessible only to staff).

Timeline

Below is an overview of key pre-selection and submission deadlines for upcoming ERC calls:

ERC Consolidator Grant 2025

Other calls

The faculty application phase for the ERC Advanced Grant 2024, Starting Grant 2025, and Synergy Grant 2025 has now concluded. New proposals for these calls are no longer accepted.

Once the provisional deadlines for the upcoming ERC calls (ERC Advanced Grant 2025, Starting Grant 2026, and Synergy Grant 2026) are announced, we will update this page with the relevant deadlines for the faculty application phase. We expect updates for the new year's program in March 2025.

Contact

For any inquiries regarding this procedure, please reach out to the faculty coordinator for ERC.

• roman.roobroeck@ugent.be
• 09 264 50 12