NRW supports the University of Siegen in EU research

The University of Siegen is one of 14 winners in the current competition for the promotion of project management structures. The state is providing in total 1.5 million euros in EU research and innovation funding for the participation of universities and university hospitals.

The University of Siegen has scored once again. In order to strengthen its participation in the European Framework Program for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020), it receives up to € 114,000 from the PROMISE funding program, which is awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The "EaSE-2020" project ("Excellence Development and Top Junior Research in the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020"), which was conceived by the Research Promotion Unit, was successful. With this grant, the university supports researchers to plan and submit applications with Horizon 2020 successfully. For every euro that the University of Siegen receives from the Ministry, it gives one euro of own resources. Siegen scientists can therefore be funded with a total of 228,000 euros. "We are very pleased about this support, which confirms the very good standing of the University of Siegen in this field", said Prof. Dr. med. Peter Haring Bolívar, Vice-Rector for Research and Young Researchers at the University of Siegen.

The special feature: The University of Siegen is one of only a few universities, which are being funded for the second time in this competition. In the course of the project INSPIRE ("Integral Service for Project Funding and Management in the European Framework Program") mainly support measures (coaching, mentoring, etc.) were established during the last funding period 2014 to 2017 in the application and project management. With EaSE-2020 incentive schemes for high potential-employees of the University of Siegen are to be set for the basic participation (e.g. start-up financing) or the targeted re-submission of applications (for example optimization costs).

On the one hand, the internally allocated funds should help researchers to optimize and re-submit very well evaluated applications, which just barely didn’t make it on the first attempt. On the other hand, in the course of the start-up funding, Siegen scientists are to be motivated to take on a coordinator role in large pan-European joint projects. Taking on such tasks poses a challenge and usually binds resources over a longer period of time. With the funding, the University of Siegen also wants to support excellent young researchers who want to apply for a groundbreaking project idea to the European Research Council (ERC), the flagship of European cutting-edge-research. Here, applicants are to be funded, specifically in the area of ERC Starting Grants, which are aimed at researchers in the period between two to seven years after graduation. The available start-up financing or optimization costs for the European application are awarded primarily by internal competition process and can be used, for example, for personnel, travels, translations, or editing costs.

"EaSE-2020 is the perfect complement to the complex counseling, support and information services that in recent years have been developed at the University of Siegen in the field of European research funding," said Dipl.-Ing. Peter Stolpp, one of two EU speakers at the University of Siegen.

In the current round of the competition, an independent jury has proposed 13 other universities in NRW for funding, in addition to the University of Siegen.

With a total of 1.5 million euros, the competition winners can implement or further develop their concepts for greater participation in Horizon 2020. This is designed to support the application for EU funds and greater networking at a European level. Horizon 2020, as a European funding program, makes an important contribution to building a knowledge and innovation-driven society and a competitive economy in Europe.

The following projects have now been recommended for funding by an independent review panel:

• EaSE-2020, University of Siegen

• EUPHORIE, Faculty of Medicine at the University Hospital Essen

• PROGRESS, University of Bielefeld with University of Paderborn, University of Applied Sciences OWL and University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld

• EPORRPLUS, University of Duisburg Essen

• TUSupportHorizon, TU Dortmund

• EUProMed, University Hospital Düsseldorf

• SyInFo, RuhrWest University of Applied Sciences

• GROWTH, RWTH Aachen

• ProHorizon2020, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

• Expansion of EU research funding at the German College of Police (DHPol), German University of Police

• E2FHSWF, FH Südwestfalen

The participation of North Rhine-Westphalian protagonists in the European promotion of research and innovation as well as the resulting knowledge and innovation networks is of central concern to the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.