A Saturday in New York City – With a Difference
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By Eva-Maria Streier
No one had anticipated such an influx. About 170 mainly young researchers arrived at the Deutsches Haus (German House) in New York City on a radiant Saturday afternoon at the end of November to find out about the funding opportunities provided by the European Research Council (ERC). Under the title “Yes You Can”, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the German Center for Research and Innovation New York (GCRI) and the National Contact Point for the European Research Council (NCP-ERC) hosted the event in the Deutsches Haus within view of the United Nations’ main building. With a “mere” 23 stories, the building which is home to the German ambassador to the United Nations, German Consulate General, the DFG, the DAAD and the GCRI among others, is one of smaller buildings in Manhattan! However, its large auditorium and smaller conference rooms make it the perfect location for events of this kind.
Christian Jörgens, Head of Section Science and Technology at the German Embassy in Washington during his welcoming speech
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In his welcoming speech, Christian Jörgens, Head of Section Science and Technology at the German Embassy in Washington, highlighted Germany’s leading role and the commitment of the former DFG President, Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker concerning the establishment of the ERC. He also emphasised the growing importance of Europe and especially of Germany in research and drew attention to Germany's top ranking in the acquisition of ERC grants. He encouraged the American guests to apply and welcomed them in advance to Germany.
Professor Don Lucca, Engineer from Oklahoma and a friend of Germany
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The first speaker, Professor Don Lucca, an engineer from Oklahoma State University, talked about his experiences with and in Germany. As a former Humboldt Research Prize winner, as a member of a DFG Collaborative Research Centre and as a Mercator Professor, he has had extensive contacts with his German colleagues, particularly in Bremen and Aachen, for more than twelve years. He presented the funding opportunities in the context of the CRC/Transregio Process Chains for the Replication of Complex Optical Components, based in Bremen and Aachen, in almost euphoric terms, and also pointed out the significance of the Excellence Initiative for the German research landscape. But for the audience, the ingenuousness and enthusiasm with which a researcher from the heartland of the US related his personal experiences was perhaps even more important than any details about funding opportunities. Don Lucca said that in his professional life he had reason to be thankful for lifelong connections with his German colleagues, for the exchange opportunities available to students and post-doctoral researchers, and for the international recognition and visibility that comes with prizes and awards. In personal terms, he and his family have benefited greatly from a broader understanding of the social, economic and scientific conditions prevailing in the host country.
When the avuncular researcher in his mid-fifties went on to explain that he had never had any real problems with the language, as most Germans spoke good English, the ice was well broken.
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The opening speech was followed by two parallel workshops, in which DFG experts, who had travelled from Germany and the ERC’s National Contact Point along with two researchers, presented the funding opportunities provided by the European Research Council. The National Contact Point is jointly funded by the DFG and the EU-Office of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). It provides information and advice regarding the funding programmes of the ERC. It also supports researchers who are applying for ERC grants.
In the workshop for the roughly 50 established researchers, Annette Doll-Sellen, a director in the International Affairs Division of the DFG and former Head of the European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations (KOWI) in Brussels, pointed out the basic intentions and conditions of the European Research Council: The ERC wants to attract the best researchers from around the world to Europe. It is open to all disciplines and is driven exclusively by scientific excellence. It offers attractive, flexible grants between €2.5 and 3.5 million for up to five years. There are no quotas regarding country or gender, and it is an open competition between outstanding researchers of all nationalities, who are prepared to spend half of their working time in Europe. Uwe David from the KOWI went through the details of the application and approval procedure and explained, among other things, the exact specifications regarding the length of a proposal: one page of self-assessment regarding leadership qualities, two pages of curriculum vitae, two pages on previous work, five pages summary of the project and 15 pages for the actual proposal. Professor Hannah Monyer, a neurobiologist at the University of Heidelberg, who was awarded one of the highly coveted ERC Advanced Grants, picked up on precisely this point. She explained that she had worked for six weeks on the required 25 pages and fine-tuned every word – but it was well worth the effort in the end.
The presentations were followed by an intense and lively question and answer session, which focused on issues like the division of working time in Europe and the US, interdisciplinary projects and, of course, the language. Professor Rafael Yuste, a colleague of Hannah Monyer at Columbia University, New York and a member of an ERC selection committee, gave encouragement to his compatriots: Americans, he declared, are quite used to participating in scientific competitions and to writing extensive applications.
Around 120 early career researchers took part in the second workshop, in which Salim Chehab from the EU-Office of the BMBF and Philip Thelen from the DFG Head Office presented the so-called Starting Grants for young researchers. This grant usually amounts to 1.5 million euros for a maximum of five years and targets early career independent junior research group leaders, who have completed their doctorates two to twelve years previously. Here too, nationality is of no importance, but it is expected that the young researchers work in Europe. An example is Francesca Spagnoli, the Italian diabetes researcher, who, after periods at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and a post-doctoral period at the Rockefeller University in New York, is now leading an independent junior research group at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin. In September 2009, she was awarded the ERC Starting Grant for the next five years – just one year after she came to Berlin. She also encouraged her young colleagues to apply – the financial crisis in the USA and the diminishing resources of the large American research organisations,were further reasons for looking to Europe, according to the Italian independent junior research group leader.
One-third of the participants in this workshop came from Europe and wanted to return home after their post-doctoral period in the USA. A clear thing emerging from the discussions was that the efforts being made to attract or repatriate the most talented researchers, above all in Germany with the help of the Excellence Initiative, the pact for research and innovation and, of course, the ERC funds, are paying off. For instance, two young researchers from Mainz who are currently working in neurophysiology and cell biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, reported that research conditions in the USA had become difficult from a financial perspective and with regard to the facilities. At present, Germany offers early career researchers significantly better conditions.
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The afternoon ended with the first Leibniz Lecture to be held in North America. It was given by Hannah Monyer, who in 2003 was awarded Germany’s most prestigious research prize – the DFG’s Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, currently endowed with €2.5 million. As Max Vögler, Director of the DFG Office in North America, explained, the DFG’s purpose in organising the Leibniz Lectures is to increase the international visibility of top-level German research. Despite the advanced hour of the day, Hannah Monyer’s talk on memory research, entitled “A Walk Down Memory’s Path” was met with great interest. The chance which the two organisations hosting the event took in combining two very different event formats paid off handsomely.
Joann Halpern, Director of the DWIH, whose team was largely responsible for preparing the event, was thus already in a position to take stock after a first glance at the evaluation sheets: the event was a success, and all participants had something positive to say about the learning effects. Europe had successfully wooed American research.
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Spirited: Professor Hannah Monyer giving the first Leibniz Lecture in North America
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