The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) has shared some data regarding the participation of national entities in the EU enlargement program to support research and innovation. Since 2014, Portugal has raised €179.6 million in the programme, in a total of 202 approved projects, 172 of which have received national coordination..
a The vast majority of funding has been obtained from 2021 onwards, with continued growth, as part of the Horizon Europe Framework Program (2021-2027), which already totals €81.9 million.. In comparison, between 2014 and 2020, €97.7 million was raised, slightly more than the amount actually saved in the current programme.
There was also an increase in the national success rate between the two framework programmes, rising from 25.7% to 39.3%. The success rate was successively higher than the European average, which is 14-15%.
a FCT highlights impact of programs on opportunities and growth of scientific employment created since 2014, although half will emerge from 2021. The number of job opportunities in the sector reached about 200, according to the organization’s calculations.
Since 2014, national participation in the expansion has led to the establishment of five Centers of Excellence in the country. They are BIOPOLIS in the field of biodiversity; MIA-Portugal in the field of active aging led by the University of Coimbra; the IMM-CARE of the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medicine; Nova Institute for Medical Systems Biology at Nova de Lisboa University; and the Center of Excellence for Gene Therapy at the Portuguese Center of the University of Coimbra, which will develop projects in the health field.
Hey The expansion program not only focused on funded scientific projects, but also implemented the COST procedure, benefiting on average more than 1,500 researchers per year.in addition to attracting more than 2,000 foreigners to Portugal, in communication and mobility activities from 2014 to 2022.
The Foundation explained that the expansion program is a key tool for strengthening national innovation ecosystems. Excellence partnerships are promoted internationally It is referred to as a major contribution to the promotion of research in Europe.
Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, highlights the Horizon Europe framework programme, launched in 2021, where Portugal has already seen 1,082 projects approved for funding, and by the first half of 2023, a total of €613 million had been raised.. 68% of this value was collected by research centers and higher education institutions.
This support from The European Union is very important for funding national researchers and their projectsSelected by the European Research Centre.
“These results show increasing national competitiveness in European programmes, which has already led to the establishment of centers of excellence in several areas in Portugal“, from health, biodiversity, active aging and also in generating scientific employment opportunities,” highlighted Maddalena Alves, President of the FCT.
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