INESC TEC launches new call for senior ICT researchers interested in spending one up to three months in Portugal

The Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) is launching a new Call destined for senior researchers interested in spending one up to three months in Portugal, exploring topics like Artificial Intelligence, Bioengineering, Communications, Computer Science and Engineering, Photonics, Robotics, Systems Engineering and Management, and Power and Energy.

This new Call builds on the success of the previous International Visiting Researcher Programme editions. Since 2022, INESC TEC has welcomed 47 researchers from all around the world, from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, or Denmark, to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, the United States of America, Canada, India and Israel. The Portuguese R&D institute will be accepting applications on a rolling basis until June 13.

INESC TEC will welcome senior researchers worldwide affiliated with foreign organisations who wish to collaborate with an INESC TEC host and their team (even though Bright PhD and master’s students are also welcome to apply).

“Applicants admitted will benefit from an immersive experience thanks to INESC TEC’s ecosystem, allowing them to explore and develop collaborations in the institution’s fields of knowledge, engage in interdisciplinary and collaborative research with scientific peers, and acquire and transfer new knowledge. During their stay, they are also expected to engage in events organised by INESC TEC and prepare a presentation of their research to the community”, said Andreia Passos, Manager of the International Relations Service of INESC TEC.

Research visits may begin any time from September 30, 2025, and must conclude no later than July 31, 2026. The selected candidates will be granted a monthly allowance to explore one of the 85 research topics proposed by INESC TEC’s research community, in one of the research centres of the multidisciplinary Portuguese institution that was recently rated “Excellent” – the highest classification available – in a national Unit Assessment.

The application process is simple: candidates must first identify one topic from the list of available research topics proposed by INESC TEC that meets their interests, and those of their home institution. Each topic has at least a scientific host at INESC TEC, who will act as an INESC TEC Host. 

Long-standing collaborations through short-term research mobility has been the motto for the initiative. Darío Ferreira Martínez applied for last year's call and  attested just that: “My experience with INESC TEC was outstanding. In a collaboration and familiarity environment, I have found myself surrounded by well-qualified and motivated researchers with whom I have been able to share time, ideas and objectives. It was an ideal place of science lovers.”

INESC TEC is a private non-profit research association, with Public Interest status, dedicated to scientific research and technological development, technology transfer, advanced consulting and training, and pre-incubation of new technology-based companies. Present in seven sites in the cities of Porto (headquarters), Braga, Vila Real and Madeira, and with more than one thousand collaborators, INESC TEC acts from knowledge generation to science-based innovation, and performs collaboratively in search for a more sustainable, responsible, and improved world.