Regulations for Awarding Exceptional COVID-19 Impact Mitigation Studentships

Following the information previously provided, FCT informs that the Regulation for the Award of Exceptional Studentships to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 on Research Activities (Regulation no. 560-A/2021), applicable to Studentships directly funded by FCTStudentships contracted between FCT and research fellows), has been published in the Diário da República and can be consulted here. 

Research fellows whose work plans have been seriously affected by the suspension of face-to-face activities due to the COVID-19 disease may submit a reasoned request to apply for the exceptional Studentship to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. This application can be submitted until July 1, 2021, to bolsasexcecionais@fct.pt.

It should be clarified that, for scholarship holders whose contracted Studentship has a shorter duration than the maximum allowed by the applicable Regulation(Regulation no. 950/2019), it is still possible to request a change in the duration of the Studentship, up to the maximum provided for in the Regulation, based on duly substantiated unforeseeable circumstances. The Regulation for the Allocation of Exceptional Studentships to Mitigate the Impacts of COVID-19 provides the possibility of allocating exceptional Studentships beyond the maximum duration previously possible.

With regard to Studentships indirectly funded by the FCTStudentships not contracted with the FCT), namely Studentships whose activity takes place within the scope of projects, research units and research infrastructures, as a funding institution and not as a contracting entity, the FCT makes it possible to make adjustments to the work plans when monitoring the implementation of these support instruments, as well as reprogramming of a financial nature (re-budgeting between expenditure items, without increasing the funding granted) and of a temporal nature, under the conditions and limits established in the specific regulations or open notices, which will make it possible to accommodate any extensions to the deadline for completion of these Studentships, within the framework of the objectives and tasks of the approved projects and research units, and provided that the beneficiaries of the support so wish and communicate.