Fulbright and FCT sign cooperation agreements

On January 16, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Fulbright Commission signed three cooperation protocols that strengthen scientific cooperation and exchange between Portugal and the United States of America (USA).

Studentships will thus receive financial support from FCT as early as 2014, both for PhD programs at accredited universities in the US and to enable professors and PhD researchers to teach and/or conduct research projects at universities and research centers in the US.

FCT funding for Fulbright Studentships amounts to €18,500 per scholarship holder (maximum amount) for the first year of study, with the possibility of additional funding in the second and third years, for a total of 10 Studentships be awarded. For Studentships Professors and Doctoral Researchers, funding for the three Studentships to up to €8,880, depending on the length of stay.

Bringing the two countries closer together, FCT will also fund five Studentships for American Visiting Professors and Researchers, who will be able to teach and carry out research projects at Portuguese universities and research centers for periods of three months.

At the signing ceremony, Miguel Seabra, President of FCT, highlighted the impact of the Fulbright program on relations between the US and Europe, particularly with Portugal. He also emphasized the advantages of this cooperation, which enhances the quality of Portuguese students' education in the US by providing support to applicants and access to quality programs offered by the Fulbright Commission. Virginia L. Staab, President of the Fulbright Commission's Board of Directors, focused on the evolution of the Commission, which is celebrating its 54th anniversary this year, highlighting the role of its partners and the importance of new ideas that continue to enable Fulbright's growth. 

The Fulbright Commission and its Information Center are now operating in the FCT building, under one of the signed protocols. The Commission's historical archive is now also part of the FCT's Historical Archive of Science and Technology (AHCT). In a partnership that also involves the Institute of Contemporary History (Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Universidade Nova), the archive, which illustrates more than 50 years of exchange and knowledge sharing with the US, will thus be processed and made available for study by the scientific community. The archive includes files on Portuguese and American scholarship recipients funded with Fulbright support since the 1960s, as well as minutes of the Commission's Board of Directors meetings.