Skip to main content
DA / EN
Q&A about ERC

"A major milestone and achievement"

What can an ERC grant contribute to in a researcher's career? Professor Annette Baudisch received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022 for her project "Born once – Die once". In this Q&A she reflects on the value of going into an ERC process.

By Stine Charlotte Saltofte Hansen , , 6/20/2024

How did you benefit from the application process?

- It gave me an incredible boost in being able to pitch a project. I got better in framing my ideas in such a way that they sound convincing also to people outside my field.

Writing several rounds of successively longer and more detailed pitches and drafts made me aware of where I was implicitly assuming relevance and where I could be more concrete and spell out exactly what it is that I expect to contribute and exactly what is the gap in current knowledge, and why that gap persisted up until now.

Thinking in the structure expected by ERC basically provides a template for a great narrative for any other grant, most abstracts for top journals, and indeed pitching any other project, also outside research. 

It allows you to question what it is that you want to contribute to research, where you see your place. Because you have to provide a narrative that explains why it should be you who is best suited to carry out the research you are proposing.

Annette Baudisch, ERC-recipient and Professor

What significance has the ERC had in your career? 

- It felt as a major milestone and achievement, and a great feedback on where you stand with your ideas within your field. I was really excited about what I wanted to do, but I thought this might just be perceived as too far out of the normal.

It is enormously encouraging to get the green light from your peers that they believe you are onto something promising that is valuable.   
 

What benefits do you gain from working on an ERC application?

- It allows you to question what it is that you want to contribute to research, where you see your place. Because you have to provide a narrative that explains why it should be you who is best suited to carry out the research you are proposing.

So essentially, your narrative has to tie together all your previous work that brings you to the point where it comes together within this one large project under your leadership guided by your vision.

It can give you a strong direction and sense of purpose why you do what you do. And if you cannot come up with a convincing story, then you may ask yourself why you choose this research question, and not another one, that better fits your unique profile.

  • Unfold your wildest idea

    An ERC grant paves the way for innovative and creative ideas.

  • About ERC-recipient Annette Baudisch

    • Mathematician and demographer by training with insights into biology, economics, and computer sciences
    • Director at the Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop)         
    • Chair of Business and Social Sciences in Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS).
    New initiative rewards ERC interviews and ERC recipients

    From April 2024 SDU's researchers who go to ERC interviews & receivers of ERC grants are rewarded financially with support for both researcher and institute.

    Read more

    Editing was completed: 20.06.2024