Professors Lucie Cluver and Tobias Hauser, respectively from the University of Oxford and University College London were awarded the 2024 ERC Public Engagement with Research Awards on 24 October. The prize recognises European Research Council (ERC) grantees who successfully engage audiences outside their academic domain. This is the third edition of this award since the first one launched in 2019.
Lucie Cluver was awarded “for initiating and fostering global collaboration to provide research-based parenting support in crises, improving the well-being of millions worldwide”.
Tobias Hauser from University College London and Tubingen University was awarded “for co-creating an accessible, interactive resource on obsessive-compulsive disorders, bridging neuroscience and community needs for real impact.” Each winner will receive €10 000.
Other laureates include:
- Frédéric Dias from ENS Paris-Saclay, awarded “for engaging people living on the Aran Islands in frontier science, integrating local expertise with ocean wave research to advance knowledge and to improve community resilience.”
- Orla Muldoon from the University of Limerick, awarded “for advancing public understanding of gender-based violence, highlighting its systemic nature and driving societal change.”
- Philipp Stockhammer from LMU Munich, awarded “for innovative public engagement on the ancient origins of the Mediterranean diet, reaching global audiences through edutainment and media.”
- Mathilde Touvier from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), awarded “for promoting innovative and far-reaching public engagement on food additives, improving global public health awareness and nutrition policies.”
More detail about the winning projects can be found here.
The contest for the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award closed for applications on 21 February 2024. The ERC received 99 applications from ERC grantees across 20 countries. A pre-selection was organised to choose the best proposals for the jury review. The Jury of the award, composed of experts in public engagement and science communication, consequently selected six winners.
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It supports researchers of any nationality and age to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme.
Horizon Europe is the biggest international research and innovation programme in the world with more than £82 billion (€95.5 billion) of funding available over seven years (2021 to 2027) from the EU budget, to which all associated countries are adding further contributions. The United Kingdom associated on 1 January 2024.
Questions & Answers on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe can be found here, as well as in this FAQ
Joint statement by the European Commission and the UK Government on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus
UK association to Horizon Europe