UC welcomes new projects to boost research in Portugal and Europe

The University of Coimbra (UC), through its Interdisciplinary Research Institute (iiiUC), is part of five national and European projects in the areas of gender equality, research data management, science management, research evaluation and science communication. In common, they aim to improve and boost research in Portugal and Europe in areas such as open science, career progression in research and scientific literacy.

With funding from Horizon Europe, the European project Fostering INCLUsive biomeDicine gender Equality plans in research and higher education institutions (INCLUDE) brings together 11 partners and is coordinated by SmartVenice. Its aim is to help improve the conditions of access to career progression and to reduce inequalities between men and women. As part of the project, gender equality plans will be developed, particularly for the health sector, which will have an impact on inclusion, career attractiveness and talent retention.

The national consortium Rede para a Gestão de Dados de Investigação (RE.DATA), which the UC is co-leading with the University of Minho, is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through the National Scientific Computing Unit (FCCN), and brings together five Portuguese higher education institutions - Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Universidade de Coimbra, Universidade do Minho and Universidade Nova de Lisboa - in conjunction with 14 research data management centres. This project aims to contribute to the creation of a support network for research data management in Portugal and to the implementation of policies and good practices for its management.

The Research Management Framework (RM Framework) project, led by the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators and funded by Horizon Europe, aims to support the development of a European qualification system for science management, with a view to improving research management in Europe. The RM Framework thus aims to help guide policy-makers and trainers, and to empower research managers.

The University of Coimbra has also secured funding for the Transforming Research Assessment through Responsible Research training of Early Stage Researchers (TREASURE) project, financed by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment. This pilot project aims to implement practices at the UC to promote open science, thus contributing to alternative metrics for assessing the performance of researchers, particularly in projects by early-stage researchers.

Alongside these new projects, the UC is also securing funding, from Horizon Europe, for another edition of the European Researchers' Night, which takes place every year on the last Friday of September (in 2025, it will take place on the 26th), through a consortium of nine partners, led by the University of Lisbon. This year, in addition to the usual night of publicising science in the centre of Coimbra, the funding will include closer ties with schools in the Coimbra district, through the Researchers@Schools initiative. The aim of this initiative is to bring the school community closer to science, increasing scientific literacy and raising awareness of the role of research in solving global challenges.

The five projects correspond to overall funding totalling 2.218.975,62 euros, with the University of Coimbra receiving 531.820,03 euros. The approval of this funding contributes to the scientific and academic positioning of the University of Coimbra in emerging themes, both nationally and internationally.