Within the framework of the mERCury Project, an international workshop titled “Strengthening ERC Participation: From Policy to Practice Through Support Mechanisms” will be held online on 19 June 2026.
The workshop will bring together national funding agencies, university leadership, ERC National Contact Points, and key stakeholders of the research support ecosystem to discuss policies and practices aimed at increasing participation in the European Research Council (ERC). During the event, national and institutional support mechanisms for the ERC will be evaluated, alongside the exchange of good practice examples and experiences from across Europe.
The opening remarks of the workshop will be delivered by Marco Ferraro, Coordinator of the mERCury Project and ERC National Contact Point of Italy, and Aslı Vural, Leader of the Work Package on Strategic Capacity Development for Widening Countries within the mERCury Project and ERC National Contact Point of Türkiye.
In the first session, ERC President Prof. Maria Leptin will present the ERC Scientific Council’s reflections and policy recommendations regarding the participation of Widening countries. In addition, ERC Scientific Council members Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek and Prof. András Stipsicz will share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities faced by Widening countries in participating in ERC programmes.
The second session will focus on ERC support mechanisms implemented across Europe. National support programmes in both Widening and other European countries, as well as institutional support models developed by universities, will be examined comparatively. Participants will also have the opportunity to interact directly with speakers during the Q&A segments.
The final session of the day will be dedicated to a panel discussion on support mechanisms contributing to ERC success.
Participation is particularly encouraged for senior university administrators, research management units, research support offices, ERC-focused proposal development and support teams, and stakeholders involved in research policy design. The workshop is primarily intended for stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of ERC support mechanisms, rather than ERC applicants themselves.
The event will take place on 19 June 2026 between 10:00 and 13:30 (Brussels time) and will be streamed live on YouTube. Participants will be able to submit questions to speakers during the sessions. The event can be followed via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5qEDeGwKy0
Further information about the event is available here.
If you have questions please send it to: ncperc@tubitak.gov.tr.