Call Talent@Unipd - ERC Scouting at the University of Padua

Dear Colleagues,

The University of Padua (Unipd) is looking for outstanding researchers of any age and nationality to leverage successful applications for the 2026 ERC Starting Grant call, funded by the European Commission within the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

ERC Starting Grants are open to candidates who have successfully defended their first PhD thesis within a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 7 years prior to 1st January 2026, have an outstanding scientific track-record, as well as an excellent research proposal.

Through the Talent@Unipd Starting Grants scouting initiative, Unipd aims at identifying promising candidates for the forthcoming ERC Starting Grant 2026 call, whose possible deadline is in October/November 2025

Selected Talent candidates will be assisted at each stage of their proposal writing by highly qualified research support staff at Unipd.

Researchers wishing to participate should fill in the application form available here

https://forms.gle/KU6J9sJYD6pNxSL68

and submit it by 30 April 2025, at 1 p.m. (Italian time zone), attaching the following documents

·         CV and track-record (use of a dedicated template is mandatory)

·         Proposal in English of max. 4.000 characters (spaces included), describing the project idea

·         Letter of commitment, duly signed, indicating the University of Padua as host institution for the future ERC application.

Templates are available at https://www.unipd.it/en/call-starting-grant-2026.

Thank you for your cooperation in promoting or participating in our Talent@Unipd - Starting Grants 2026 scouting programme.

Should you have questions or need any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact the University of Padua International Research Office - individual.grants@unipd.it.

Useful links:

- pagina Talent ITA | https://www.unipd.it/call-starting-grant-2026 - page Talent ENG | https://www.unipd.it/en/call-starting-grant-2026 - why choosing Padua as Host Institution | https://www.unipd.it/en/unipd-host-institution

Best regards,

-- Ufficio Ricerca Internazionale | International Research Office Settore finanziamenti individuali | Individual Grants Unit Università degli Studi di Padova | University of Padova via Martiri della Libertà, 8 - 35137 Padova, Italia | Italy

http://www.unipd.it/ricercainternazionale https://www.unipd.it/en/supportingresearch FB: International Research Office Twitter: Ricerca Int. UniPd@ServizioRicerc LinkedIN: Int. Research Office Unipd Moodle: International Research Office

Tiziano

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiziano Vargiolu Dipartimento di Matematica Phone: +39 049 8271383 Universita' di Padova Fax: +39 049 8271428 Via Trieste, 63 E-mail: vargiolu@math.unipd.it I-35121 Padova (Italy) WWW: http://www.math.unipd.it/~vargiolu --------------------------------------------------------------------------