Grants Office Newsletter June 2024
Dear Colleagues,
Last year, the University of Basel achieved a record level of third-party funding despite the challenges posed by increasingly competitive calls at the SNSF and reduced access to Horizon Europe. External funding is crucial not only for individual research groups to perform excellent science but also for enhancing the global reputation of our university as a leading research institution.
This success is thanks to all of you — your drive to push the boundaries of science and your dedication to applying for a record number of grants. As the Grant Office reports below, there are numerous upcoming opportunities, from Bridge proof-of-concept grants for early-career researchers to Advanced Grants for established professors. As you all know, taking the plunge and deciding to apply is the first step towards success.
My time as Vice President for Research is coming to an end, and I look forward to serving the research community in my new role as President of the SNSF Research Council starting January 1. Over the past six years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you in person at commission, faculty, and department meetings, as well as at university-organized events. I will miss our conversations about current research politics, discussing career steps with junior researchers, and, last but not least, hearing about your latest research projects. As Vice President for Research, I have learned from you about a wide range of research topics and cultures across all faculties and departments — it has been a great privilege.
I wish my successor, Prof. Primo Schär, all the best in his role as Vice President for Research.
Kind regards,
Torsten Schwede
ERC Advanced Grants 2024 - Open Call
The ERC Advanced Grants (AdG) provide attractive and long-term funding to support established leading principal investigators who want to pursue ground-breaking, ambitious projects. The ERC AdG Call 2024 with deadline on 29 August 2024 is open to applicants with a Swiss host institute and proposals can be initiated here. If you plan to apply, please contact us for further information and support. For example, about the free proposal review service, offered by our colleagues from Euresearch. A host institution support letter is required for the application and is provided by the Grants Office.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 2024
While still being a third country with reduced eligibility to Horizon Europe, researchers in Switzerland can participate in various MSCA funding schemes. Most notably, Swiss-based researchers can participate in MSCA Doctoral Networks (deadline 27 November) as associated partners. The Swiss project partner will be funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. For more information, watch the Euresearch Information event. Swiss institutions are also eligible as host for the outgoing phase of MSCA Global Fellows (deadline 11 September). Watch the Euresearch Information here.
Turning the Page on Climate Anxiety
Cristina Loi, from Digital Humanities Lab, has successfully acquired a BRIDGE – Proof of Concept grant.
She tells us more about her project “Turning the Page on Climate Anxiety: Empowering Youth for Sustainable Change, Testing the Effects of a Shared Reading Program for Young Adults in Switzerland”.
Swissuniversities new agreement with Elsevier
On 10 June 2024, swissuniversities signed a comprehensive Open Access agreement with Elsevier. This guarantees members of all Swiss universities full reading access to Elsevier's entire journal portfolio and allows you, as a researcher at the University of Basel, to publish in over 2,500 Elsevier Open Access journals, also now including Cell Press and The Lancet journal series, at no additional cost.
Clarification - SNSF Staff Salaries
At the beginning of 2024 the University of Basel granted all employees, including staff employed via SNSF funded projects, a 2% salary increase to cover the costs of inflation. In order to allow project leaders to report these costs in running projects and budget them in future grant proposals, the SNSF recently adjusted the upper salary bands for project staff and thus brought them in line with cost-of-living increases granted by the universities.
More information about the decision can be found in the Intranet.
Horizonte- The Swiss Research Magazine
Horizonte - jointly published by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences – focuses in its latest edition on University Spin-Offs. Other articles include contributions from former rector Antonio Loprieno in "How to find the right professor", Markus Affolter from the Biozentrum on understanding morphogens and Heinz Läubli and Alfred Zippelius on collaborating with study patients at the University Hospital.
Horizonte is published four times a year both online as well as in print.
More successes!
The Grants Office would like to congratulate:
- The PIs of 29 new SNSF Projects
- Glenn Bantug, Ben Engel, Gabriele Röger and Thomas Ward for their new WEAVE/Lead Agency projects
- Anna Petrig as coordinator of an interdisciplinary COST Action brings together partners from all over the world.
- The PIs of 5 Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowships
- Richard Kühl and Robin Teufel for their Interreg projects
- Peter Rüthemann, Jonathan Wagner, Carlo Bertozzi and Annegret Mündermann for their Innosuisse project
- Christine Alewell and Pasquale Borrelli for their Horizon Europe project
- Petya Apostolova for a European Hematology Association grant
- Antje Prasse for her grant from the Ann Theodore Foundation
- Yvonne Willi for her grant from the Aptenia Foundation
- Kristin Dahl for her HFSP Fellowship
Events
ERC Synergy Grant Information
Information event for interested researchers, includes tips and advice from successful ERC SyG applicants and previous panel members. Synergy Grants provide funding for a team of 2-4 PIs and a 6-year project.
June 26, 12.00-13.45, online
Future Labs Live 2024
The congress brings together practitioners, technicians, scientists, innovators, start-ups, focused on digitalization, connectivity, and automation in Digital, Animal Health and Food.
June 26-27, Basel
Unlocking Horizon Europe - Last Call for 2024 Funding Opportunities
Informative overview of remaining funding calls in Horizon Europe for 2024. Calls various research and innovation fields.
July 4, 12.00-13.15, online
Euresearch Proposal Writing Training
The training will address all evaluation criteria for Horizon Europe collaborative project proposals and is for applicants in Switzerland.
August 29, 9.15-16.00, Bern
Training free of charge, registration required.
Entrepreneurship Training
Business Concept is a module of the Start-up Training program promoted by Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency, and is organized and conducted by the University of Basel Innovation Office. The 12-week course takes place every week from September 13 to November 20.
Registration until August 28.
Career Funding for Postdocs
The Career Advancement and Grants Office together organize an information event on funding opportunities for Postdocs within the Transferable Skills services.
September 26, Basel
Save the date (Registration will open on August 7)
Latin America Week 2024
SERI funded Leading House Latin America invites researchers from all fields to immerse in opportunities for joint Swiss-Latin American academic collaborations.
October 21-24, St. Gallen
Save the date (Registration opening soon)
Calls
Data Science Research Calls for Collaborative Projects
The Swiss Data Science Center launches its first national calls for Collaborative Research Data Science Projects, End-User Innovation Projects and Collaborative Open Research Data Infrastructure Projects.
Submission deadline July 15
Krebsforschung Schweiz
Applications for research projects are accepted twice a year. Funding is available for all areas of cancer research: basic, clinical, epidemiological, psychosocial and health services research.
Submission deadline July 31
AO Innovation Funding
The AO Foundation provides funding for projects on the following topics: Clinical tools and technologies for musculoskeletal disorders, educational solutions for lifelong training of surgeons, and strengthening AO’s strategic position.
Submission deadline August 31
FSRMM open calls
The foundation Suisse de recherche sur les maladies musculaires accepts proposals for research grants on neuromuscular diseases and Polymyalgia rheumatica.
Submission deadline August 31
Belmont Forum: Africa Regional call for proposals
The Africa Regional Collaborative Research Action promotes international transdisciplinary research in the context of global environmental change. Only proposals in the topics Water, energy, food and health nexus; pollution; or disaster preparedness, responsiveness and recovery are accepted.
Submission deadline letter of intent September 2
Submission deadline full proposal December 31
New European Bauhaus Open Call: Making Neighbourhoods Beautiful, Sustainable and Inclusive
Calls for the following topics are now open within the Horizon Europe Action: Exploiting the potential of secondary bio-based products, New governance models for the co-design and co-construction of public spaces in neighbourhoods by communities and Setting up a New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact. Watch the recoding of the information event.
Submission deadline September 19
Velux Stiftung Calls 2024
The Velux Stiftung has open calls in the following thematic areas: Forestry (Deadline September 23), Daylight Research (Deadline September 30) and Healthy Ageing (Deadline September 30). Up to three co-PIs can apply for interdisciplinary funding.
EIC Pathfinder Challenges
The challenges are: solar-to-X for renewable fuels, cement as a carbon sink, alternatives to food packaging, nanoelectronics for energy efficient edge devices and resilient EU space infrastructure. Call opens on 20 June.
Submission deadline October 16
COST Action
Interdisciplinary research network that brings researchers and innovators together.
Submission deadline October 23
European Cultural Heritage Cloud
This unique infrastructure will provide cutting-edge technologies for digitizing artefacts, researching artworks, and documenting data. Swiss entities are eligible to apply as associated partners. Sign up for the Brokerage Platform and watch the recording of the info day.
Submission deadline January 22, 2025
Survey
Survey
Do you collaborate with colleagues in the tri-national upper Rhine region? The EURO-Institute asks for your input via a survey.
Check out Research Professional for more national and international Calls.