15 UC talents win Gulbenkian Scholarships

^{Abridged translation by Diana Taborda}

At the University of Coimbra (UC), there are 15 students with a GPA of 17 or higher (out of 20) for whom attending classes is not enough. They want to do more and do better, and they seem to be on the right track. They have won the “Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship 2023”, which is awarded annually by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and most of them already have an idea of how to use the prize: paying tuition fees, attending courses and conferences, or buying materials for their research projects.

In addition to the scholarship, which can be up to 3,500 euros, the 'new talents' will take part in an integrated programme that includes mentoring by tutors and scientific committees, as well as participation in scientific retreats and workshops. They will be provided with support for the development of a research project.

The research projects of the awarded UC students cover topics ranging from the Higgs boson to the history of anthropology, the dynamics of celestial bodies and the study of altered states of consciousness using virtual reality.

The Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship programme aims to identify and support the talent of outstanding students and encourage them to engage in research. In the 2023 edition, a total of 100 students were honoured nationwide in the areas of Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Humanities and Social Sciences.