Serbian scientists urged to apply for EU funds

Serbian scientists urged to apply for EU funds

The Council needs to develop and attract research talent, and original scientific contribution is what it expects, Hunt said in a lecture at the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade.

Introducing the ERC, Hunt explained that the institution offers full creative freedom to innovators - from topic selection to the make-up of their project teams.

The Council, established by the EU in 2007, is run by scientists, which makes the process of project selection completely open and democratic, Hunt added.

Speaking about the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, launched by the EU in 2014 as the largest-ever European program for investments in science and technological development, he said that the European Commission has set aside a EUR 80 billion budget for projects within the program.

There is no reason for Serbian scientists from all fields not to apply for these grants, Hunt said, noting the brilliance of Serbian mathematicians.

Serbia's Assistant Minister of Education for European Integrations Viktor Nedović said that Minister of Education Srđan Verbić signed on July 1 in Brussels an agreement on Serbia's inclusion in Horizon 2020, and that a law on its implementation was adopted by the parliament shortly thereafter.

"It seems that researchers in Serbia are still hesitant about applying and we have come here to dispel doubts," said ERC Research Program Officer Gordana Popovic, a scientist of Serbian descent.

Hunt, who embarked on a five-day visit to Serbia on Wednesday, will later in the day deliver a lecture at the Rectorate of the University of Novi Sad and is also scheduled to visit scientific institutions in Negotin and Zaječar, eastern Serbia.

Hunt is visiting Serbia at the invitation of the office of Crown Prince of Yugoslavia Aleksandar Karađorđević and with support from the European Commission to help Serbian scientists link up and find out more about possibilities for funding within the Horizon 2020 program.

He won the Nobel Prize in 2001 for the discovery of the fundamental mechanism of cell cycle control "and was knighted by the British queen in 2006," said Tanjug.

He is a member of the ERC scientific team that defines the strategy and methodology of funding scientific projects.