Open call for nominations at the President of the European Research Council from January 2020#

The AE has received a request to publicise to members, a call for nominations for consideration as the next President of the European Research Council. Deadline to receive nominations is 1 October. Please note that any nominations must follow the specific guidelines described in the document below.#

Statement on the search process and requirements for the next President of the European Research Council (ERC)#

1. Introduction

The current mandate of the President of the European Research Council (ERC) will end on 31 December 2019. A new President of the ERC is due to be appointed in the first semester of 2019 and to take office from 1 January 2020, as successor to the current president, Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon.

The ERC President will chair the ERC Scientific Council, ensure its leadership and its liaison with the ERC Executive Agency and represent the ERC in the world of science.

The ERC President is appointed following a search process carried out by an independent Search Committee. The Search Committee carries out its work independently and transparently.

2. Search process

The objective of the Search Committee is to conduct the selection process, and identify a shortlist of three candidates to propose to the European Commission as the next ERC President. To this end, the Committee will conduct a search to create a pool of appropriate candidates for the ERC President, covering all fields of science and scholarship.

Applicants will be sought through an open call, promoted via a Commission News Alert, on the ERC website and through advertisements in relevant media.

The Committee will also actively inform the research community, including through writing to organisations representative of the various segments of the research community. In addition the Committee members will take a proactive role to encourage suitable applicants.

3. Requirements and conditions

The ERC President should be:

• A senior and internationally renowned and respected scientist;

• An innovative research leader, combining wisdom and experience with vision and imagination and acknowledged openness towards all fields of science and scholarship;

• A person who has the trust and confidence of the scientific community and is renowned for her/his independence and commitment to research;

• A prominent figure of European Science, able to defend the case of frontier research and to communicate effectively.

The ERC President will reside in Brussels for the duration of the appointment and devote most of her/his time (in principle at least 80%) to ERC activities. S/he will be appointed and remunerated as a Special Adviser to the Commission, with a salary commensurate with senior management in the Commission. The term of office is limited to four years, renewable once. No age limit applies. Applicants must be nationals of an EU Member State.

4. How to apply

The committee invites all candidates fulfilling the above requirements to apply[1]. All applications will be treated as confidential.

Applications should include the following elements:

• A letter of motivation (max. 1 page),

• A curriculum vitae, including:
  • Relevant professional experience (e.g. universities, scientific institutions, business, government, etc., indicating also any administrative or science policy experience);
  • Research interests and experience (indicating the major research projects in which the candidate has been involved)

• A list of the ten most relevant publications and/or other significant works and prizes.

The committee will only consider candidatures that provide these elements, which will then be used to assess applications according to the requirements set out above, and for the Committee to make an informed judgement. The most promising candidates will be invited to an interview with the Committee to inform the Committee's decision on the final shortlist.

Applications should sent to the following email address by 17:00 (CET) on Monday 1 October: RTD-ERC-PRES-SC@ec.europa.eu#

5. Provisional timetable for the work of the Committee

Following the first meeting, where the Committee agreed this Statement, the provisional schedule for the Committee’s work is as follows:
- Mid-July: Open invitation for applications and announcement letters to a wide range of research organisations.

- 1 October: Deadline for applications.

- Mid-October: Search Committee meeting to discuss selection of nominees for interviews and organisation of interviews.

- December/January: Final meeting to conduct interviews and agree on a short-list of three candidates.

Background#

Members of the Search Committee

• President Mario MONTI (Chair), President of Bocconi University, Former Prime Minister of Italy
• Alice GAST, President of Imperial College London
• Fabiola GIANOTTI, Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh, Director-General of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research
• Carl-Henrik HELDIN, Professor in Molecular Cell Biology at Uppsala University, Chairman of the board of the Nobel Foundation
• Jules A. HOFFMANN, Chair of Integrative Biology, Professor at University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study, 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine
• Helga NOWOTNY, Professor emerita of Social Studies of Science, ETH Zurich, Former President of the ERC Scientific Council
• Maciej ŻYLICZ, President and Executive Director of the Foundation for Polish Science

Useful links:

News Alert on the Search Committee
European Research Council
Horizon 2020
Horizon Europe
Special Advisers (Articles 123 and 124 of the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Union) -

Download the document

[1] The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination.

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