Suffering from FCT and GRICES

The Foundation for Science and Technology FCT and the Office for International Relations GRICES have decided this year that the deadline for project submission would be August 31.

The internationalization of activities and the international cooperation are two the pillars of our national policy for science. Essential ones. We must praise the possibility now clearly recognized to include foreign research groups in our national projects, as well as the funding for traveling.

However, fixing the deadline at August 31 is unproductive. In Portugal, August is vacation month, mandatory for University people. Abroad, in Europe and The United States, the same happens. In Brazil people work in August, but had vacation time in July so in any case contacts and coordination of efforts are difficult, to say the least.

We encourage responsibles in FCT and GRICES to review their options.