Greek ERA Chairs Day | News

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Greek_ERA_Chairs_Day
19.09.2023

Greek ERA Chairs Day

The Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) was pleased to host the inaugural day event of the seven ERA Chair research projects, coordinated by Greek Research Centers and Universities, within the framework of the Horizon Europe program. The event took place on Tuesday, 26th of September 2023, at FORTH’s facilities in Heraklion, Crete, in the G. Lianis Amphitheater.

The "European Research Area Chairs" (ERA Chairs) program has the overarching aim of drawing in outstanding scholars and researchers from international backgrounds to Greek academic institutions, with the ultimate objective of advancing research excellence. This initiative seeks to both attract and retain top-tier talent under the guidance of the ERA Chair appointee. Additionally, the ERA Chair holder will be responsible for suggesting and supervising organizational enhancements geared towards fostering excellence within a sustainable framework.

Greece has achieved remarkable success in the recent call for proposals under this program, leading to the establishment of seven ERA Chairs across five different institutions. Specifically, these Chairs will be located at FORTH (three Chairs), the National Research Foundation (one Chair), the Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexandros Fleming" (one Chair), the University of Crete (one Chair), and the University of Patras (one Chair). These projects, boasting a combined budget of 17.5 million euros, will pave the way for the development of Centers of Excellence in cutting-edge scientific domains, including computational astrophysics, computational biodiversity, the advancement of microbial biopesticides, molecular biophysics and structural biology, cryogenic electron microscopy, biomolecular engineering and synthetic biology, and digital humanities.

The event provided a valuable platform for showcasing the ambitious research objectives of the seven ERA Chairs, as well as outlining the efforts they plan to undertake, in collaboration with the institutions’ administrations and in cooperation with political and regional leaders, on matters concerning research and the advancement of innovation in Greece.