RF Ministry of Science and Education Informs about Measures of Support for Young Scientists

National project “Science” places a special emphasis on staff members of educational and scientific organizations, candidates of sciences under the age of 35, doctors of sciences under the age of 40, Ph.D. students, researchers or university professors without scientific degrees under the age of 30.

A system of supportive measures — financial, social and professional — is established at the state level for young scientists who do advanced research in the areas of scientific and technological development and modernization of the Russian economy. Some of them were touched upon by RF Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov at his meeting with scientists.

The financial support includes presidential grants for young candidates and doctors of sciences, presidential and governmental scholarships for young scientists and Ph.D. students, as well as grants of foundations that support scientific, technological and innovative activities.

RF presidential grants are given in the forms of 2-year subsidies to finance expenses for fundamental and applied research.

The government allocated three million rubles for implementation of the winning projects in 2019-2021. The seventh competition places a special emphasis on increasing participation of young specialists in scientific projects. Such researchers, aged under 39, must account for at least 50% in research teams; besides, their number must grow at least by 2% each year.

Now the RF Ministry of Science and Higher Education is holding the 8th megagrant competition, the results of which will be summed up in late 2020. It is planned to support 35-40 projects on creation of world-class laboratories with the financing of up to 90 million rubles for each.

As for professional support, the ministry is working on creation of world-class academic and scientific centres. They have also launched federal project “Development of Advanced Infrastructure for Research & Development in Russian Federation”, aimed at updating the instrumental base. This year, 142 organizations have got financing for equipment procurement.