1450 new FCT Doctoral Research Studentships on the way

FCT released today the provisional results of the Call for PhD Research Studentships in all Scientific Fields 2023. After 3525 applications were received and analyzed, 1450 Studentships have now been proposed for funding, which corresponds to an overall approval rate of 41%. This is a planned investment of around 115 million euros, supported by national and EU funds.

The selection of candidates took into account the merit of the candidate, the merit of the work plan and the merit of the host conditions. The evaluation process for this edition of the Call involved the participation of 482 evaluators, distributed over 39 evaluation panels, who analyzed, classified and sorted the applications in each panel.

In addition to the 36 panels corresponding to the various scientific areas and sub-areas included in the Call's general application line, aimed at applications with research activities carried out in an academic environment, this edition also included 3 panels dedicated to assessing applications with activities proposed in a non-academic environment, whose composition took into account the scientific areas selected by the applicants. These three panels assessed the applications submitted in the specific non-academic environment application line, for research Studentships with work plans in close conjunction with non-academic entities, namely Companies, Collaborative Laboratories, Technology and Innovation Centers, Interface Centers, Public Administration entities, State Laboratories, Hospitals, Museums, Libraries or other third sector entities.

The distribution of the number of Studentships to each panel was set by the FCT Board of Directors, taking into account, in general terms, a rationale proportional to the number of applications submitted. With regard to the specific application line in a non-academic environment, 300 Studentships were considered for funding following the evaluation exercise carried out, as they were the best positioned in the classification and ranking list of the 3 evaluation panels, all of which were evaluated with a final score equal to or greater than three (3,000).

An analysis of the provisional results of the 2023 Call shows that women accounted for 56% of the applicants who achieved priority funding and men 44%.

The Studentships whose research will be carried out entirely in Portuguese institutions account for 80% of the total, 18% of the Studentships will be mixed (part in Portuguese institutions and part in foreign institutions) and 2% will be carried out entirely in foreign institutions. Of the selected candidates, 76% are Portuguese nationals. In total, candidates from 54 countries have been put forward for funding, with Brazilian, Iranian, Italian and Spanish candidates standing out among the foreign candidates.

The provisional results of this Call have been communicated to all applicants, who now have access to the comments justifying the classification given to their application. If they disagree with the proposed decision, they can present their opinion at the prior hearing of interested parties, until August 14, 2023, which will be analyzed by the respective evaluation panel. The final results of the Call will be published by FCT by the end of October 2023.

The Studentships contractualization process will begin on the date the final results are announced. Approved Studentships will begin on the first day of the month indicated by the candidate in the contractualization process, between September 1, 2023 and August 1, 2024. Whenever the contractualization takes place after the start of the research work financed by the Studentship, the Studentships will be paid retroactively.

This evaluation process has so far lasted 82 working days between the end of applications and the communication of the provisional results.

The Call for doctoral research Studentships is held annually and is part of the FCT's major structuring Calls . For information on other funding opportunities for doctoral research Studentships , within the scope of FCT collaboration protocols and partnerships with R&D units and other entities, it is suggested that you consult the FCT website and the Euraxess portal regularly.