The Grand Hall of the University of Belgrade Rectorate hosted Serbia’s first national ERC forum, a pivotal event organized to support researchers applying for prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants.
The event was made possible through the collaboration of multiple institutions, including the Horizon Europe SECURE project, which played an important role in organizing the forum alongside other key partners. Dr. Petar Laušević from the Center for the Promotion of Science presented the SECURE project to the attendees, discussing its achievements to date and outlining future plans.
Serbia currently holds three ERC grants—two in physics and one at the intersection of biology and archaeology. The forum, held on November 22, 2024, gathered ERC grant recipients, evaluators, research funding experts, science policymakers, and numerous interested researchers from Serbia. The event allowed participants to engage in interactive sessions, deepen their understanding of the application process, and network with peers and ERC representatives.
Dr. Gordana Popović, a scientific coordinator from the ERC Executive Agency, shared valuable insights on the application process, offering key advice to researchers looking to apply for ERC grants. In addition, Dr. Magdalena Đorđević and Dr. Jakša Vučičević, both ERC grant recipients from the Institute of Physics in Belgrade, shared their experiences, as did Dr. Gerard Higgins, an ERC grantee from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The event also featured contributions from prominent figures in the field, including Prof. Dr. Silke Bühler-Paschen, coordinator of the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG), and Prof. Dr. Radina Vučetić, an ERC evaluator from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.
Serbia’s Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation, Dr. Jelena Begović, addressed attendees via video, emphasizing the importance of increasing the number of ERC applications from Serbia: “We are here to provide all the necessary support to help researchers submit more applications, and I am confident that with more applications, we will achieve greater success.”
The forum was organized by the Center for the Promotion of Science and the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, in collaboration with the University of Belgrade, the Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade, the ERC, the AERG, and the Horizon Europe SECURE project.