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The competition for obtaining a European Research Council grant is fiercely competitive. While Estonian researchers have for years been successful in obtaining research grants funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe, the number of awarded ERC grants, which are intended to support more cutting-edge research, has been smaller, although it is increasing.
To date, 32 Estonian researchers or researchers associated with Estonian universities have secured ERC grants. This in part is because of the competitiveness of the process. According to the ERC, in 2024, the success rate of grant proposals was just 14 percent. Because these grants are so coveted, an exhibition recognizing Estonian researchers with ERC grants was recently organized.
Called Exciting Minds, and supported by the Estonian Research Council (ETAG), the exhibition has been installed at different universities, most recently at Tallinn University of Technology, where it will remain through December.
A Spirited Discussion
The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a spirited discussion of Estonia’s success in applying for European Union grants, including ERC grants, and how these processes could be streamlined and improved. Jarek Kurnitski, the new vice-rector for research at Tallinn University of Technology, and Triin Lauri, a professor of comparative policy at Tallinn University, took part.
There exists consensus that while support exists within Estonian research institutions for academics who wish to pursue European grants, more could be done to assist them in doing so.
“ERC grants have been underutilized,” acknowledged Kurnitski in an interview at the exhibition opening. “We don’t apply very often, so the number is quite small when we talk about ERC grants.” Overall, he noted, Estonians have been successful, particularly in obtaining Horizon Europe funding.
One drawback to applying for a prestigious ERC grant is that the researchers themselves need to have a strong scientific background, a novel idea and some originality. The application process is more rigorous, and most Estonian scientists don’t have enough time to prepare such high quality applications, Kurnitski said. “With Horizon Europe, it’s easier,” he added. “The applications are not so long and it is easy to be a partner.”
TalTech’s Perspective
For Kurnitski, a civil engineer who was head of department of Civil Engineering and Architecture at TalTech until taking on the vice-rector position, the challenge for his university will be to ensure that assistance is made available to all researchers who need it, so that they can continue the upward trend in ERC grants awarded.
“Our research administrative office can help good candidates write these proposals,” Kurnitski said. “These grant writing services are quite important and it’s something we are trying to stimulate at our university.”
He noted that TalTech will organize seminars on how to apply for ERC grants and will offer workshops on writing grant proposals to its researchers. He noted that the university’s research administration office has a team of 23 people ready to assist scientists with funding applications.
In general, said Kurnitski, the university is shifting its attention to meeting the needs of the Estonian economy, particularly for highly educated engineers. TalTech is trying to attract more engineering students and has increased student admission in recent years by 60 percent in engineering disciplines. “This is a positive problem for the university, how to educate all of these new students,” he said. He also said that the university is renewing its focus on applied science, helping to solve the practical problems companies and society are facing and with a desire to feed research supported by European grants into technology spinoffs.
“We are the only university of technology in Estonia,” said Kurnitski. “So offering practical value and utilization by companies and society is crucial.”
More to Be Done
According to Tallinn University’s Triin Lauri, the foundations are in place to support Estonian ERC and other European grant applications, but more could be done to improve the success rate.
“In general, it’s nice that science is getting attention and this exhibition shows the personal side of it,” said Lauri. She said that when one looks at grants awarded per capita, then Estonia has been successful, though in terms of ERC grants, less so.
In order to be more competitive, researchers will need “strong support” from their universities, she said, as well as campaigns to encourage scientists to apply. “They have a lot of other activities and projects and they need to devote time to write grant proposals,” said Lauri. “Even if they have a good idea, they need to have the expertise in writing a proposal in a way that reviewers would understand what they want to do.”
Lauri said that Estonian universities have begun to understand that they need to put more resources into supporting scientists in this process. Estonian research has also benefitted from the fact that many doctoral students are involved in their studies fulltime. In the past, they might have pursued a PhD in addition to work in the private sector. This has led to a more collaborative, dedicated research environment, making it easier to devise new projects and write new grants.
ETAG, she underscored, has provided solid support in terms of organizing conferences and workshops on applying for European funding and ERC grants, in particular. They are also accessible to answer questions from researchers, should they have them. “Everything is very well done,” said Lauri. “Sometimes there is almost too much information, but you can choose what you use.”
In her view, now that Estonia already has researchers who have successfully secured ERC grants, a valuable next step would be to facilitate the transfer of their management and leadership experience to others. “We are taught generously about how to apply,” Lauri noted. “But once you receive the grant, the money and the responsibility are entirely yours.” She suggested that support should go beyond how to apply and also include guidance on how to run an ERC, including financial and administrative management.
This article is written by Justin Petrone. This article was funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Estonian Research Council.
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