FCT Hosts a Session at UTAD on Advanced Training

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) will hold a thematic session titled “Advanced Education in a Changing World: New Challenges, New Responses” on November 11, beginning at 2:00 p.m., in the Geosciences Auditorium at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) in Vila Real.

The event will bring together representatives from the scientific and academic communities, funding agencies, European program officials, and invited experts to reflect on the role of advanced training in scientific, economic, and social development. The program will include the sharing of success stories from doctoral research funded with European support, promoting reflection on the challenges and opportunities of advanced training in the current context of profound global transformation.

This session is being held as part of the Thematic Program on Demography, Skills, and Inclusion—People 2030, which has allocated 80 million euros in funding to support 4,720 doctoral Studentships s awarded by the FCT, of which 2,820 are conducted in an academic setting and 1,900 in a non-academic setting.

This funding, which represents 85% of the total eligible investment of 94,117,647 euros, is aligned with the National Strategy for Smart Specialization 2030 (ENEI 2030) and the Regional Strategies for Smart Specialization (EREI), aims to contribute to increasing the number of Ph.D.s in Portugal, with particular priority given to their subsequent integration into the non-academic labor market, specifically in companies, interface centers, and third-sector entities, among others. More and better highly qualified professionals will, in particular, enable an increase in the export of products and services based on scientific and technological knowledge and creativity.

The session “Advanced Training in a Changing World: New Challenges, New Responses” is free to attend, subject to prior registration, which is now open. The detailed program will be announced shortly.