Quintino Lopes was invited by the European Research Council (ERC) to act as an expert reviewer in the ERC Consolidator Grants 2025 competition, thus complementing the expertise of the members of the panel ‘Social Sciences and Humanities: Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems’ (coordinated by Claes De Vreese).

For the IHC researcher, who currently coordinates the PHONLAB project, ‘this invitation is a manifestation of the international projection and recognition of the research produced by the IHC’ and ‘highlights the success of the Institute’s strategy in supporting its researchers and their internationalisation.’

On a more personal note, Quintino Lopes tells us that the experience was very positive, with deadlines that allowed for ‘a thorough analysis of the projects’ and that the greatest difficulty encountered was the amount of documentation that needed to be understood beforehand, since there are many ‘parameters and issues to consider’ and that that is ‘vital for carefully evaluating the projects’, but that the ERC team was always helpful.

ERC Consolidator Grants recognise outstanding researchers with projects that are funded with up to €3 million. At the IHC, Maria de Lurdes Rosa received one of these grants, which enabled the development of the VINCULUM project, completed in 2025.