Third Call FCT researcher selects 229 new researchers

The results of the third FCT Researcher Call , released at the end of January, reveal that 229 new PhDs will join the program to receive a five-year contract that will allow them to develop their research projects in Portuguese R&D centers. Launched in 2012 with the goal of hiring 1,000 exceptional scientists by 2016, the program has so far selected 597 researchers .

The FCT Researcher Program offers competitive remuneration, in the form of an employment contract, for a maximum period of five years and allows researchers to also receive funding to consolidate their career and establish leadership in their research areas. Candidates who have had a doctorate for some years can choose one of three modalities: initial level, development level and consolidation level.

THE Call 2014 found 152 candidates for the initial level (researchers with a doctorate completed more than 3 years and less than 8 years ago); 69 Candidates for development level (doctorates with exceptional curriculum merit and experience as an independent researcher); 8 Candidates for consolidation level (for PhDs with experience as independent researchers).

The FCT Investigator program thus opens the doors to “promising and talented” scientists from all scientific areas, of any nationality and age, to carry out research in a laboratory in Portugal of their choice. This Call selected 26 researchers from the field of Life and Health Sciences , 87 researchers from Exact Sciences and Engineering , 75 researchers from Natural and Environmental Sciences and 41 researchers from Social Sciences and Humanities .

The selection of researchers is carried out in two phases, by panels of independent experts, of recognized international merit in each scientific area, through a rigorous peer review system. THE Call 2014 evaluated 1,398 applications in a two-stage process. Node Call 2015, currently in progress, around 1,370 applications have passed the first phase of the evaluation process.

The FCT Researcher Program is centered on the Researcher and his/her R&D project and focuses on scientific excellence to recruit the most creative and innovative PhD researchers, who demonstrate independence and leadership skills in their scientific field, considering criteria such as experience, professional trajectory and research project for selection. The FCT researcher autonomously develops scientific research activities at the host institution of his/her choice through the execution of an employment contract, which is financed by the FCT.

The quality of FCT researchers is internationally recognized: several have been selected to receive prestigious ERC Studentships from the European Research Council and many others have published their work in reputable scientific publications.