By Fundraising & Project Management, Research Services.  

EU is for assistant professors, associate professors, and professors alike

Several AAU researchers have discovered the exciting research opportunities in Horizon Europe under “Pillar 2: Global Challenges”. The funding is good (100% + 25% overhead), the social relevance is high, the average European success rate is high (21%), and the research is right up the alley of a broad range of AAU researchers. EU does not require the heaviest CVs. The focus is on having the right team across European borders. Therefore, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors all have good opportunities. Assistant professors can participate as project partners, while associate professors and professors can participate as both coordinators and project partners. 

AAU researchers who wish to be coordinators can receive full support throughout the process via Fundraising & Project Management’s EU application process. Researchers can therefore focus on research. Fundraising & Project Management can help with knowledge about the large “EU apparatus”. 

There is help available throughout the process  

Fundraising & Project Management’s support of RIA applications has borne fruit. Two AAU coordinator projects have just been launched, and a third will start in April. 

Associate Professor Cejna Anna Quist-Jensen from the Department of Chemistry and Bioscience and Assistant Professor Aamer Ali from the Department of Energy are first-time coordinators for one of the new EU projects, CORNERSTONE. Cejna Anna Quist-Jensen says: “Fundraising & Project Management’s funding advisors have been a great help throughout the application process - also mentally. For example, we received help with graphics, drafts of emails and budget templates, finding a partner type we were missing and members for the Advisory Board, as well as getting critical reviews and corrections in the application. Fundraising & Project Management also helped us get an overview of the call topic and which overarching EU strategies should be addressed in the project (proposal intelligence). We therefore targeted the application early in the process.” 

“Now that CORNERSTONE has been granted, we have chosen an administrative project manager at Fundraising & Project Management. They have great EU experience, which gives us the surplus to focus on the technical part. EU can quickly become complicated, but with this support it doesn’t seem complicated,” explains Aamer Ali. 

Are you also considering EU? - Find your opportunities via AAU’s Call Finder 

Horizon Europe offers countless opportunities, but it has never been easier to identify relevant application opportunities. AAU’s Call Finder can help find relevant “call topics”. Call Finder is linked to VBN and can therefore find relevant opportunities by inserting a researcher’s name, keyword or an abstract. Interested researchers can get help with searching from the departments’ local funding advisors or Fundraising & Project Management. The hope is that many more AAU researchers will try their hand at EU applications - either as partners or coordinators. EU is for everyone!