The ERC strengthens ties to Asia with a new implementing arrangement with the National Research Foundation of Singapore, the ERC’s 14th international agreement.
On 6 October, the European Research Council (ERC) concluded its 14th international agreement with the National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF). The Director General of the Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Eric Paquet met with the CEO of the NRF, Low Teck Seng, on the margins of the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS Forum) in Kyoto, Japan. In the presence of Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the ERC, they signed an Implementing Arrangement, which will permit Singaporean researchers supported by the NRF to make research visits to Europe and work in, or together with, ERC-funded teams.
The new agreement honours the importance of global cooperation in cutting-edge science and strengthens the ERC’s efforts to attract the best researchers to Europe. It will facilitate the exchange of ideas and benefit the research efforts of both Singapore and the European Union (EU) by allowing researchers to spend time with their collaborators. The ERC has already launched a string of these agreements with funders around the globe, which are considered R&I leaders. Singapore is already the fifth partner from Asia following agreements with China, India, Korean and Japan. After the first arrangement set up with the United States, further partners now include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa.
However, the agreements are not the only option for non-European researchers seeking to work in an ERC-funded environment. The teams of ERC-grantees include an estimated 17% of team members with a non-European nationality. When hosted at a research institution in an EU member state or Horizon 2020 associated country, scientists of any nationality and any field are also eligible to apply for ERC grants themselves. The nine early- to mid-career Singaporean researchers awarded to date constitute the biggest group among all grantees from ASEAN countries.