Our scientific excellence also confirmed in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Ljubljana, 05.02.2020 - National Institute of Chemistry attracts outstanding foreign postdocs to Slovenia. Nine projects of the National Institute of Chemistry will be financed under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Call 2019. As the most successful institution in Slovenia, we are consolidating our leading role as a scientifically excellent research institution.
Three top foreign postdocs received Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowships, two others received Widening Fellowship.
In addition to the five approved projects, the European Commission will award the prestigious Seal of Excellence to four other projects being eligible for national funding under the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS).
National Institute of Chemistry success rate for this year's call was a remarkable 31% (EU funds only) and 56% overall (taking into account the Slovenian co-financing). The European average is 12.5%. The total value of the acquired projects exceeds 1.4 million euros.
Since the scheme does not specify any research topics, the competition in these calls is exceptional. A total of 9,875 applications were submitted for the call for proposals, with cut-off score of 93% for project approval.
National Institute of Chemistry will host an outstanding project by Dr. Ana Crnković entitled NanoEx, which deals with improving the efficiency of nanopores with genetically encoded nonnatural amino acids. Dr. Crnković will facilitate the knowledge exchange between the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (USA Yale University) headed by Prof. Dr. Dieter Soell and the Department of Molecular Biology and Nanobiology at the National Institute of Chemistry under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Gregor Anderluh.
Dr. Maria Victoria Bracamonte from Argentina will work on the SensBat project to develop new intelligent batteries with a built-in electrochemical sensor, thereby furthering the Institute's scientific excellence in modern battery systems under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Robert Dominko. Both projects were awarded with more than 97% scores.
The Iranian researcher Dr. Reza Gholizadehaghoyeh will study the conversion of carbon dioxide into polymers in two steps in the CO2Polymerisation project. South Korean researcher Dr. Deepak Verma will deal with the conversion of cellulose-containing biomass in Cell2Carbox project. The groundbreaking research will be conducted in the Department of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Blaž Likozar.
The project of the researcher dr. Mohammed Azeezulla Nazrulla from India entitled CO2-CAT-ALOG deals with nano-electro-catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide. The project is carried out under the Prof. Dr. Nejc Hodnik mentorship.
The great discoveries are led by small steps of achievement, which consist of the effort and curiosity of excellent researchers. National Institute of Chemistry is committed to supporting these efforts and to ensuring that young, promising researchers find an appropriate place within the institute.
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowships provide an excellent opportunity for promising post-doctoral researchers by offering research, various training courses and networking of researchers, which is crucial for improving employment opportunities in academia and industry.
The excellent support of the National Contact Point in Slovenia in promoting the Marie Skłodowska Curie Programme, as well as the Insitute's systematic support for researchers in applying for this highly competitive call significantly increases the chances of project funding.
More information: https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/news/cofund-results-2020_en
Contact: project.office(at)ki.si