The project team from the RECETOX department participated in a study visit at the Grant Office of ETH Zurich

During three fully packed days, we learned how the Grant Office (GO!) at ETH Zurich supports its researchers during the application and implementation phases of projects, what the process looks like for managing projects funded by U.S. grants, what sources of funding the institution relies on, how project finances are managed, and what challenges they face in the Horizon Europe program, given that Switzerland is not an EU member and is considered a non-associated third country by the program.

During our presentation about Masaryk University and the project support provided at RECETOX, our Swiss colleagues were particularly interested in our established practice of targeted collaboration in preparing project proposals for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Postdoctoral Fellowship calls. They were also intrigued by the fact that we manage the preparation of proposals, project management, and finances directly at the RECETOX workplace.

We brought back several tips and inspirations from the study visit on how we can further improve our work. On the other hand, we were also reassured that in the area of grant support, we are keeping pace with a university ranked among the best in the world.