FCT funds 1,778 new PhD places between October 2024 and the end of 2025

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) announced today, December 13, thefinal results of Call . A total of 1,104 permanent positions were awarded in what is the FCT's first funding instrument to support the hiring of researchers exclusively in career positions.

With these results, FCT is supporting the creation of 1,778 new PhD positions between October 1, 2024, and the end of 2025. This set of positions includes the first edition of the FCT-Tenure program, Calls CEEC-LA (1st edition), CEEC-Individual (6th and 7th editions), and ERC-PT programs.

Of these new positions, 1,210 (68%) will be permanent, reinforcing incentives to hire researchers for permanent positions under the FCT's scientific employment funding model.

Adding these new opportunities to the 351 positions contracted in the third quarter of 2024, FCT expects to reach a total of 2,129 new positions in the research system between July 2024 and December 2025.

This policy represents a significant change from the previous FCT scientific employment funding model. It is aimed at attracting and retaining scientific talent, with a focus on permanent contracts, whether through teaching or research careers (at all career stages). This approach ensures not only greater stability in scientific careers, but also a high level of dedication to R&D activities on the part of researchers supported by the FCT and significant strategic autonomy for institutions.

In addition, FCT has created specific incentives that promote intersectoral and intercareer mobility. These include programs for non-doctoral researchers, namely DoutorAP (1st edition) and the Call Non-Academic Studentships (3 editions), which will soon be joined by a new Call support the hiring of doctoral researchers in non-academic environments. These measures are part of other initiatives already available to PhD researchers, such as the DGAE incentives for the integration of PhDs into non-university education, which value the diversification of researchers' career paths.

The proposed revision of the Scientific Research Career Statute (ECIC), currently before the Portuguese Parliament, also provides for the creation of a research career applicable to various public sectors, such as museums and hospitals, expanding career opportunities for researchers and strengthening the social impact of science in different areas of society. It also aims to encompass the entire career cycle of a researcher in a single statute, including doctoral students, providing the necessary legal framework for changes in future Calls .

These actions are even more relevant considering that, between October 2024 and the end of 2025, around 1,171 contracts for PhD researchers funded by FCT will come to an end, highlighting the importance of initiatives that renew and consolidate career opportunities for PhDs in the country through permanent positions. This figure accounts for the termination of DL57 and Transitional Norm contracts funded under FCT scientific Calls . If contracts terminated since January 2024 are included, this number rises to 1,388 contracts.

The initiatives underway anticipate the needs of the scientific system and strengthen support for different generations of researchers in the national science and technology system. This reform of the types of contracts supported by the FCT, both in terms of the number of positions available and the nature of the contracts, has a significant impact on institutions and the development of researchers' careers in Portugal.