With Starting@UNIPI the University of Pisa supports researchers in the submission of projects to the ERC Starting Grant 2026 call, expected to be published in July 2025 with a deadline in October 2025.
The recipients of the grant are researchers of any nationality who choose the University of Pisa as the Host Institution for their project proposal on the ERC-StG 2026 call. It is not required to be under contract with UNIPI.
The support will consist of a comprehensive and interactive review process on:
- CV and scientific profile of the Principal Investigator (PI);
- Project idea and its presentation.
This support will be provided by a consulting agency selected by the University of Pisa in collaboration with the Research Development Unit.
Submission procedure
The application consists of:
- Letter of acknowledgment from the hosting Department (Attachment 1).
- CV of the PI + project idea (Attachment 2).
The material, in PDF format, should be sent to the email address starting@unipi.it.
Proposal evaluation
The evaluation will be carried out by a Commission composed of expert reviewers for the three ERC domains. Up to a maximum of 10 proposals will be selected. Projects are evaluated based on the criteria of scientific excellence and the candidate’s profile, following the ERC-StG criteria.
Timeline
Call opening: 8 May 2025
Deadline for submitting application: 8 June 2025
Evaluation of applications: June 2025
Start of support: July 2025
The detailed timelines will be published once the opening and closing dates of the ERC StG 2026 call are announced.
Call document and annexes
Starting@unipi call_2025
Annex 1_2025
Annex 2_2025
