Major success for the IfKW in the ERC Starting Grants

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Two research projects at the IfKW have been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

In the COSCOM project, Sophia Charlotte Volk will investigate corporate science communication. The project focuses on the conditions under which companies’ science communication strengthens trust in science, when it may undermine it, and which interventions can help mitigate risks while leveraging potential benefits.

With the DIGIREL project, our colleague Ruth Wendt will examine fundamental processes of interpersonal communication. Today, interpersonal communication is characterized by a constant shift between digital and non-digital modes. Ruth Wendt will investigate how this interstitial communication affects adolescents’ social relationships and well-being.

Each project will receive €1.5 million in funding over a period of five years. The European Research Council awards Starting Grants based on the scientific excellence of both the applicants and their proposed research projects. ERC Starting Grants are among the most prestigious research funding schemes in Europe.

We warmly congratulate Sophia Charlotte Volk and Ruth Wendt on this outstanding academic achievement and look forward to the research and findings that will emerge from both projects.

To carry out their projects, Sophia Charlotte Volk and Ruth Wendt will each recruit two PhD candidates and one postdoctoral researcher. The corresponding job openings will be announced soon.