On Wednesday, 17 December, USI will host an informational session focused on the prestigious calls for proposals from the European Research Council (ERC) . The goal of this session is to provide researchers with an updated overview of individual opportunities and the key changes introduced by the 2026 Work Programme. The session will feature Dr Daniele Mammoli, Scientific Advisor to the ERC, together with speakers from USI who will share their experience as ERC grantees and provide information on the support services available from the University to assist with application preparation.
The initiative is part of the support programme that USI provides to its scientific community, aiming to encourage participation in key competitive programmes at the European level. The session will begin with a welcome coffee at 10:30, followed by an introduction by Sara Caspani from the Research Service. She will explain the services available to ERC applicants and outline the University’s internal procedures.
The focus of the encounter will be a presentation by Dr Daniele Mammoli , providing a broad overview of the three types of individual grants - Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants - with an in-depth look at the main changes introduced in the 2026 Work Programme. The event is therefore a valuable opportunity for those considering applying in the next rounds of ERC calls.
This will be followed by Professor Vittorio Limongelli (full professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and ERC Grantee) who will share his direct experience as a winner of the ERC Consolidator Grant with the project "CoMMBi - Computational Microscope on Molecular Binding: from atom to cell membrane scale", offering concrete insights into the preparation stages, the most common challenges and the elements that can strengthen a competitive proposal. The morning will conclude with a public Q&A session.
The event is primarily intended for researchers who are considering applying for ERC grants in 2026. Full details and the registration form are available on the dedicated event page.
