Join our faculty through an ERC grant
The European Research Council (ERC) supports groundbreaking research across all scientific disciplines. At the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, we welcome external researchers who wish to apply for an ERC grant, such as Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, and Advanced Grants.
ERC in a nutshell
The European Research Council (ERC) is widely regarded as the most important funding channel for excellent, frontier research in Europe. It provides substantial financial support to creative researchers of all nationalities and at all career stages, with projects conducted throughout Europe. The ERC promotes research of the highest quality across a wide range of disciplines, based solely on the criterion of scientific excellence. The three core funding schemes are Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, and Advanced Grants.
Given the importance of the ERC programme in fostering excellence, Ghent University has developed an incentive policy to reward researchers who obtain an ERC grant.
- Researchers who did not yet hold a professorial (ZAP) appointment at UGent automatically receive a 10-year appointment upon being awarded an ERC project. This consists of a temporary appointment combining a 10% professorship with a 90% appointment as a postdoctoral researcher.
- (p.m.) ERC grant holders who already hold a full-time professorship at Ghent University may, upon request, be partially relieved of teaching duties through a budget of up to €25,500 per semester. This budget can be used to replace the ERC grant holder with a visiting professor, a part-time professor, or a postdoctoral researcher. For specific modalities and conditions, please contact BOF@UGent.be.
Because a 10-year appointment has a significant impact on the faculty’s personnel policy, candidates who do not yet hold a permanent ZAP position within our faculty require faculty-level approval in order to take up a position within the faculty as an ERC grant holder.
Application procedure
To ensure a streamlined process of candidacy and approval within the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, a clear procedure has been established.
Step 1: Initial contact and assessment
Interested candidates contact the chair of the department in which they wish to work (check our list of departments). The department chair thus serves as the first point of contact for initiating your application.
Department chairs may also proactively scout and approach potential candidates. At the initial contact, the candidate provides the department chair with sufficient information about their research domain and experience. The department chair assesses whether the candidate’s discipline aligns with the department’s long-term vision and, on that basis, evaluates the potential integration of the candidate into the faculty’s policy framework. This assessment is discussed openly with the candidate. During this initial meeting, the department chair and the candidate also discuss their mutual expectations regarding research, teaching, and service.
Step 2: Approval at department Level
If expectations are aligned and the department chair has a positive view of how the candidate fits within the faculty’s policy framework, the candidate completes the application form for candidates and submits it to the department chair. The department chair may involve fellow department chairs, e.g. if the application is relevant to or aligns with multiple departments.
The department chair makes an initial assessment based on the completed form. If the candidate broadly fits within the faculty’s policy framework, an interview is conducted. This interview is carried out by the department chair and the relevant programme chair(s). If appropriate, they can also invite (other) subject-matter experts to participate in the interview.
Step 3: Approval by the policy committee
The department chair then submits a reasoned recommendation (using the designated form) to the dean’s office. The dean’s office collects all applications and submits them to the faculty policy committee for (possible) approval.
During the policy committee meeting, the department chairs and the faculty board discuss which applications are appropriate and fit within the faculty policy plan. A go/no-go decision is made, which is communicated to the UGent EU team. In the event of a ‘go’, the EU team informs the candidate. In the event of a ‘no-go’, this is done by the faculty.
Step 4: Further preparation and submission
(only if the ERC application has not yet been approved)
Accepted candidates whose ERC application has not yet been submitted are given the opportunity to further prepare their ERC proposal. The UGent EU team provides support and feedback on the candidate’s draft proposals and guides the candidates up to the point of submission. The actual submission is carried out by the ERC candidate.
Step 5: Policy advice by the Faculty Council
The faculty council has the final decision-making authority regarding which candidates may start at the faculty. Once the candidate has been awarded the ERC grant and effectively chooses for the faculty, the faculty council issues a ‘policy recommendation’, taking into account the department’s earlier recommendation and the decision of the policy committee.