CONFERENCEOn 13 June 2025, Tenured Professor Inta Mieriņa of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences (FESS), University of Latvia, participated in a panel at the Tartu Conference on East European and Eurasian Studies titled “European Research Council funding grants: mission (im)possible for scholars in the ‘new’ member states?”. The panel was chaired by Una Bergmane (University of Helsinki) and featured presentations by Catherine Gibson (University of Tartu) and Laur Kanger (University of Tartu). Professor Mieriņa shared her insights on the challenges and opportunities related to securing ERC grants for researchers in the newer EU member states, highlighting structural barriers, institutional conditions, and the factors that shape excellence-driven research environments.