Tickets for the event are free, but anyone interested must register in advance to attend.

Celebrating 10 years of European Research Council funding

The University of Exeter will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the European Research Council (ERC) with a celebratory public event at the Streatham Campus.

The special event, entitled ‘what did European research funding ever do for us?’ will highlight some of the pivotal research that has been funded by the ERC and conducted at Exeter, and the impact it has had.

The ERC has funded 35 projects at the University of Exeter with a combined value of more than €55 million in the past 5 years, with topics ranging from astrophysics to obesity, and forest fires to historical memory. The University of Exeter consistently ranks in the top ten ERC funded institutions in the UK, ranking 8th in 2016. In four of the past five years the UK has had more ERC projects funded than any other participating country.

Set in the Alumni Auditorium, in the Forum, this event will feature four exciting talks by some of Exeter’s most prominent academics, who will discuss a wide range of topics including diabetes, food security, women in leadership and post-Brexit regulation.

In keeping with the sentiment of the event, each of the speakers has received ERC funding within the past five years.

The talks are:

  • On the trail of the cereal killer: Combating the world's most serious rice disease by Nick Talbot, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Impact).  Professor Talbot will discuss his pioneering work into rice blast disease, which affects rice production globally and each year destroys enough rice to feed 60 million people.
  • The challenges of leaning in: Women's ambition, sacrifice, and risk-taking by Michelle Ryan, Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology/ Dean of Postgraduate Research and Director of the University of Exeter Doctoral College. Professor Ryan will highlight the structural barriers that continue to constrain women’s career choices.
  • "Nobody was fat during the war!" How do our genes cause obesity and diabetes in today's environment? by Tim Frayling, Professor of Human Genetics. Professor Frayling’s team is trying to unlock the secrets in our DNA that mean some people become obese whilst others remain slim, and why some overweight people develop type 2 diabetes whilst others remain healthy.
  • Fixing regulations by  Claudio Radaelli, Professor of Political Science, Jean Monnet Chair in European Public Policy, Director, Centre for European Governance. Professor Radaelli will talk about how rules and regulations are essential to a sustainable economy and society, but also generate burdens

The event will be held in the Alumni Auditorium, on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus from 7-8.30pm on Monday, March 13. Tickets are free, but anyone interested must register in advance to attend.

Date: 9 March 2017

Read more University News