Drastic cuts in public funding for science and technology in Portugal are being applied as part of the government's sweeping austerity measures, without thought for a national long-term science strategy. The effects are particularly hard on young scientists.

The number of PhD and postdoctoral fellowships awarded by the country's principal funder, the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), fell by 40% from 2012 to 2013, and the 2014 budget for fellowships fell by 16.5% compared with last year.

Coupled with reductions in funding for research centres and research and development (R&D) projects, these cuts have serious long-term implications for the country's chance of developing a knowledge-based economy.