Session "25 years of FCT in Science: Scientific Employment and Scientific Careers"

The 3rd scientific conference in the FCT's 25th anniversary celebrations program will be on the theme of "Scientific Employment and Scientific Careers"(Program) and will take place on March 31 in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra. The session is free to attend but requires prior registration and will also be broadcast online.

The session will open with speeches by the President of the FCT Board of Directors, Helena Pereira, and the Rector of the University of Coimbra, Amílcar Falcão. Various perspectives on scientific employment in Portugal and other countries will be discussed, and there will also be a panel discussion on "Scientific Careers".

In 2018, FCT implemented the Stimulus to Scientific Employment program, with the aim of strengthening the National Science and Technology System (SNCT) and promoting employment opportunities for doctoral graduates. This program is implemented through the Calls Stimulus to Scientific Employment - Individual (CEEC Individual) and Stimulus to Scientific Employment - Institutional (CEEC Institutional).

These Calls act as funding instruments for hiring researchers and are defined by the Scientific Employment Regulation published in 2017 by the FCT, following the publication of Decree-Law no. 57/2016. They are aimed at PhD researchers of any nationality, in all areas of knowledge and who wish to carry out their scientific research or technological development activities in the institutions that make up the SNCT.

With four editions completed, the annual CEEC Individual Call has so far awarded a total of 1,536 contracts, making it more accessible for new doctoral graduates to integrate in a continuous and systematic way, by first identifying the host institution where they will develop their research plan. The Institutional CEEC has already made it possible to award 717 contracts to doctoral researchers and is aimed at institutions or networks made up of various entities, with a view to supporting plans for Scientific Employment and the Development of Scientific Careers by Higher Education Institutions, State Laboratories and other public or private scientific institutions.