Among 37 winning collaborative projects, 27 have at least one principal investigator based in Germany
Germany is the standout nation in hosting winners of the latest European Research Council Synergy Grants.
Of the 37 projects awarded a Synergy Grant in the latest funding round, 27 involve at least one principal investigator (PI) based in Germany.
This was far ahead of France with involvement in 12 projects, and the Netherlands and the UK on seven each.
Synergy Grants support collaborative fundamental research that cannot be carried out by only a single PI. They provide up to €14 million to each winning project, which must involve two to four PIs.
The latest funding round, results of which were announced on 26 October, split €395 million among the 37 winning projects, which involve 135 PIs working at 114 institutions in 19 countries.
Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden are each involved in five winning projects.
Audacious thinking
Teams will be looking at research topics such as mitigating the risks of volcanic disasters and whether speech analysis can predict and prevent psychotic episodes.
European Research Council president Maria Leptin said: “The selected projects are shining examples of audacious scientific thinking, and I eagerly await the outcomes of these collaborative endeavours.”
She said she was “happy to see some European researchers teaming up with peers across several continents”, with projects involving PIs in Australia, Singapore and South Africa.
The 2024 Synergy Grant call opened in July and closes on 15 November.