Carina Schmitt, Professor of Global Social Policy at SOCIUM, has been selected for one of the coveted ERC starting grants awarded by the European Research Council. The European Research Council will be funding her research with almost 1.5 million euro. “I am very happy about this award. It will enable me to implement an exciting project in the great research environment here at the University of Bremen. This is not always self-evident”,says Professor Schmitt.

The political scientist explores the legacy of colonialism with regard to the origins and results of social security. She examines the role played by the colonial past of many poor countries on the effectiveness of social policies to combat poverty and inequality. In addition, together with her research team, she is compiling a database that contains information on social policies in a global and historical perspective.

About bout Prof. Schmitt

Carina Schmitt is 37 years old and since March 2017 she is a Professor of Global Social Policy in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Bremen. Following an apprenticeship as a carpenter and a master's degree in Political Science and History at the University of Mainz, she studied for her doctorate at the University of Mannheim. Two years later, Carina Schmitt submitted her post-doctoral dissertation. This was followed by research by research stays as a John F Kennedy fellow at Harvard University and Georgetown University in Washington. Since 2014, Carina Schmitt is a member of the Junge Akademie.

About the award

This year, the ERC Starting Grant will be awarded to 406 young top researchers across Europe. Altogether, the European Research Council is supporting the grantees with 605 million euro. The money is intended to enable them to implement their own research ideas independently with their teams. 3,085 project proposals were received for the coveted award.