Applications open for the 6th edition of the 'Seed Projects for Interdisciplinary Research'
Early-career researchers from the University of Coimbra can submit their multidisciplinary project proposals for this funding initiative until 6 December.
Applications for the 6th edition of the 'Seed Projects for Interdisciplinary Research' are open until 6 December 2024. This initiative, which supports interdisciplinary research projects by early career researchers at the University of Coimbra (UC), will fund five projects with a total of €100,000 (€20,000 per project), with the support of the Santander Portugal Foundation.
Since its establishment in 2019, the programme has supported 24 research projects with an investment of €480,000. In each edition, up to five projects have been funded, one for each of UC's strategic areas: Health; Climate, Energy and Mobility; Natural Resources, Agri-food and Environment; Digital, Industry and Space; and Heritage, Culture, and Inclusive Society.
The 2025 edition of the Seed Awards maintains the programme's premise of funding interdisciplinary research proposals submitted by early career researchers (i.e. those who have completed their PhD within the last ten years).
"In addition to the lead researcher, all teams must include researchers from different research centres and disciplines," explains João Ramalho-Santos, the UC vice-rector for research.
The Seed Project Awards for Interdisciplinary Research encourage collaboration between different fields of knowledge and support future research initiatives. As the name suggests, these awards provide a seed—a launchpad—for emerging independent researchers who will compete for more funding with more ambitious projects in the future," says João Ramalho-Santos. "The funded projects are designed to allow young UC researchers to test their ideas, build teams, and collaborate at various levels, such as with companies, hospitals, or patient associations," he adds.
Data from previous editions show that the Seed Project Awards for Interdisciplinary Research have fostered collaborations beyond the University of Coimbra. A notable example is the project Regeneration of Used Lubricant Oil by Supercritical CO2 (NeWLOife), coordinated by Cecilia Santos, a researcher at the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science and Technology. Santos has established a partnership with Sogilub, Lda. to reduce the high environmental impact of lubricating oils, and has received additional funding that will allow her to develop the basic idea she presented at the UC competition.
The IMAGINÁRIA project, coordinated by Sandra Costa Saldanha, a researcher at the Centre for the History of Society and Culture and a professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, was one of the projects honoured in the second edition. It focused on the interdisciplinary study of the sculptural heritage of the Paço das Escolas of the University of Coimbra, contributing to the international recognition of UC's heritage and the establishment of new collaborations.
Application period: from 14 October 2024 until 6 December 2024 at 5 p.m., submitted at https://www.uc.pt/en/iii/iiiuc-supports/seedprojects-uc/2025-edition/
The interdisciplinary nature of the call requires the project team to include researchers from at least two UC research units in different scientific fields.