GoKawiilEarly-career scientists in China face intense competition for entry-level jobs. Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock
China’s main research funding agency will increase its number of prestigious grants for early-career scientists by 50%. The move is part of the country’s promise to step up support for young scientists who face intense competition to secure funding and jobs. Early-career researchers have welcomed the news, but some academics say it won’t be a silver bullet.
The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the country’s main funder of fundamental research, intends to finance an extra 12,000 projects this year through its Young Scientists Fund, equivalent to a budget boost of around 3.6 billion yuan (US$531 million). Projects are typically proposed by individuals, rather than groups.
“I was thrilled when I heard the news because more of us will be able to get grants,” says Shi, a 27-year-old post-doctoral student of electronic science and technology in Hefei, China, who has applied for a grant this year. He asked to share only by his surname to protect his identity.
In a statement published in May, the NSFC said that it would provide the extra sponsorships through one of the fund’s grant programmes, called C category, a highly competitive programme that is widely regarded as an entry ticket to the country’s research system. Last year, the NSFC handed out a total of 7.2 billion yuan to 24,051 selected projects through this category.
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“In many Chinese universities, early-career academics must win a grant under the NSFC’s Young Scientists Fund to find a job, get a promotion or secure tenure,” says Tong Xinzhao, a bioinformatician at the Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. Tong won a C-category grant last year after missing out four times.
Most early-career researchers apply for the C category because it is considered to be the most realistic route to obtain funding, Tong says.
C-category grants are open to post-doctoral candidates, junior researchers and some graduate students. Applicants must be under 35 years old if they are male, or 40 years old if they are female.
The agency is expected to announce who secured this years’ grants in August.
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