The preliminary results of the 2022 Call for UT Austin Portugal Exploratory Research Projects (ERPs) were announced last week by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
A new batch of projects has been recommended for funding by FCT after the deliberation of an independent international evaluation panel. Although thirty-seven eligible applications have been submitted, the call’s overall budget was limited to 400 000 euros, and, therefore, to awards of no more than 50 000 euros/project.
The eight projects that will add up to the Program’s research portfolio cover research topics from two of the four scientific areas supported by this international partnership – Medical Physics and Nanotechnologies – tapping mostly into Health and Energy-related challenges.
Portuguese research teams will receive between 19,400 and 50,000 euros to carry out a 12-month research work plan through which they’ll get to collaborate with UT Austin counterparts, who are funded by the program’s budget at the U.S. university. To set the ball rolling, FCT will invest 368,771.80 euros to support the Portuguese institutions directly, while UT will secure a similar level of funding for their research teams.
Since the onset of Phase 3, UT Austin Portugal has already funded 16 ERPs, several of which have successfully raised further funds. With this new batch, the Program will stay very close to its 27 ERPs target for the 2018-2023 period: 24 projects.
