EAM Starting Grant – Funding Period 2025/26
The Executive Board of FAU EAM has just renewed the call for proposals for the EAM Starting Grant for another funding period 2025/26.
To support the most talented young scientists working in the field of new materials and processes, the FAU Competence Center Engineering of Advanced Materials (FAU EAM) is launching a new call for the EAM Starting Grant.
The EAM Starting Grant has over the years enabled some of FAU’s most talented young researchers to submit successful profile funding proposals.
The grant is endowed with 50,000 Euro, and should serve as seed for the preparation of a Starting Grant of the European Research Council.
The grant must be used for the specific research needs of the grant recipient (personal, equipment, consumables, dissemination). Funds will be available immediately after a
positive decision and have to be spent completely by December 2026.
Who can apply?
Any FAU researcher working in the field of New Materials and Processes with up to 6 years of experience since completion of doctorate (defense date).
Only proposals with a strong link to new materials and processes research will be considered. Proposals clearly related to ongoing or future collaborative research initiatives are particularly welcome.
The recipients of the grants are required to apply for an ERC Starting Grant in 2026 or 2027 the latest.
If the applicant is not sure to meet these criteria, we kindly ask for a non-formal confirmation by the ERC.
What can be funded?
Funded can be any specific research need of the grant recipient for the proposed project, e.g.
- Dissemination
- Personnel costs (student assistants, doctoral researchers, postdoctoral researchers)
- Project consumables
- Project equipment
How to apply?
Candidates are requested to send a tentative title and a short summary of a grant (max. 2,000 characters) to eam-administration@fau.de by April 30, 2025.
This material will be used to identify suitable referees. The deadline for the submission of the proposals is May 31, 2025. The proposals need to be provided in electronic form to eam-administration@fau.de. The evaluation will be overseen by the EAM Executive Board and will be based on assessments by highly esteemed external referees. A decision is expected by October 2025.
Requirements of the proposal
I. Title page with an abstract (2,000 characters)
II. Scientific leadership potential (max. 1 page)
III. Extended synopsis of the scientific proposal (max. 5 pages): a concise presentation of the proposal including the scientific feasibility of the project, with particular attention to its groundbreaking nature and how it may open up new horizons or opportunities in research. Additionally you should provide information regarding financial planning on how to spend the grant budget.
IV. CV (max. 2 pages)
V. Early achievement track-record (max. 2 pages):
- Publications as main author in major international peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary scientific journals and/or leading international peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed conference proceedings and/or monographs
- Granted patents
- Invited presentations to peer-reviewed, internationally established conferences and/or international advanced schools
- Awards, scholarships and granted research projects under the name of the applicant
The application can be strengthened by outlining the significance/relation of your research to current and future research initiatives (e.g. CRC, RTG) at FAU.