Brazil’s government announced last month that it will award 75,000 science and technology scholarships by the end of 2014 to students studying domestically and internationally. The BRL 3.16 billion ($2.02 billion) initiative will be funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and the Ministry of Education’s Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education in an effort to fill available positions in Brazil’s engineering, health sciences, life sciences and technology sectors. The country’s thriving economy—Brazil places in the top 10 global economies and 13th in scientific production—has led to demand for chemists, physicists, computer scientists and engineers, but there are not enough people to fill the positions. The number of engineering graduates in the country increased just 1% from 2001 to 2009. The government has also called upon the private sector to fund an additional 25,000 scholarships. The announcement follows February’s BRL 1 billion cut to the science budget.

Source: Nature