I work at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP) since 2019 and for 17 years I have been working with funding management in national and international R&D projects. Since its creation in 2012 I coordinate the current Integrated Resource Center for Research Support service.
Currently I coordinate a team of 5 people who work daily in order to support, in the best possible way, the researchers who develop research activities at FPCEUP. My role is to ensure the support of researchers in the preparation and submission of proposals for funding to national and international funding entities. In the event of approval of the proposals submitted, I have the commitment to assure the existence of available funding, so that the investigators can develop the activities planned in their approved projects.
I view my work with a high spirit of mission. I recognize the importance of the research done by our researchers and as such, it motivates me a lot to know that I contribute to the construction of new knowledge. Even though my functions play an expectably invisible role in research, they are of crucial importance for research to happen.

Which aspects of your work/function do you appreciate the most?

It motivates me to work in a challenging job, both because of the volume of funding we currently manage, and because of the constant need to adjust to the new demands that this job imposes on us. I don’t consider my work to be monotonous. There are constant challenges, whether in terms of managing the team, or in terms of changing regulations and attracting new funders.

What do you consider as the most important impacts of your work (e.g. for science, for the scientific community, or for your team)?

Considering the fact that I have been following research for 17 years now, it is extraordinary to see how much research at FPCEUP has gained weight within the University and to know that at this moment, being a Faculty with more limited resources, we are competing with other larger ones with more resources.

What would your ideal workday look like?

Without the imposition of a time clock, without the requirement of a specific place to work. While some tasks are easily done in a place with people coming and going, others could be done from home at any time of the day. For me, the ideal workday would be one where I am allowed to work freely, depending on what work I have planned for that workday, without having to worry about being in the same physical space for 9 hours of my day. More important than the working time is the work product, with the completion of the planned tasks in an adjusted time.

How would you define scientific excellence? What is scientific excellence for you?

Scientific excellence, in my point of view, is something that is only achieved when it manages to have an impact on people’s lives. When it manages to leave academia and transpose itself into civil society, giving added value to the products/science produced and generating processes of change. Notwithstanding the importance of basic research, of course.