TÜBİTAK–CNPq (Brazil) Bilateral Cooperation Call is Open for Application!

TÜBİTAK (Türkiye) and CNPq (Brazil) have launched a bilateral research call to fund joint projects that generate new scientific knowledge, innovative interpretations, and solutions to technological challenges in key areas including environment, food and agriculture, health, ICT and physics, with a submission deadline of 4 May 2026. The programme places strong emphasis on researcher mobility and institutional collaboration, and will support coordinated projects between Turkish and Brazilian teams through a total budget of R$ 4,000,000, allocated to fellowships (R$ 3,000,000) and consumables (R$ 1,000,000), with each project able to request up to R$ 300,000 for fellowships and R$ 100,000 for consumables under CNPq rules, and up to 2,400,000 TL per project under TÜBİTAK’s 1071 programme.

Eligible countries

This is a bilateral call restricted to:

• Türkiye
• Brazil

Projects must be jointly prepared and submitted by teams in both countries, with Brazilian coordinators applying to CNPq (via the Carlos Chagas platform) and Turkish coordinators applying to TÜBİTAK under the 1071 Programme; unilateral applications are not accepted.

Programme focus and thematic areas

The call aims to strengthen long‑term scientific and technological cooperation between Türkiye and Brazil by supporting high‑quality, jointly implemented research projects that:

• Produce original scientific knowledge and innovation
• Address global and regional technological challenges
• Promote researcher mobility, bilateral knowledge exchange and joint publications
• Build durable institutional partnerships between Turkish and Brazilian organisations

Projects must align with one or more of the following priority fields:

• Environment
  • Decarbonisation in energy‑intensive sectors (especially cement and steel), climate change, environment and biodiversity, polar studies.
• Food and agriculture
  • Green and sustainable agriculture, plant protection, animal nutrition and improvement, reproductive health in animals, including biotechnology applications.
• Health
  • Epidemiology and public health, development of medical diagnostic kits and related technologies.
• Information and communication technologies (ICT)
  • MEMS/NEMS technologies, semiconductor technologies, artificial intelligence and related advanced ICT topics.
• Physics
  • Surfaces and interfaces, statistical and nonlinear physics, acoustics and ultrasonics, scientific instrumentation, nuclear and high‑energy physics.

Projects should clearly specify which thematic area(s) they address and how their work will contribute to the call’s objectives.

Funding structure and mobility support

Total indicative budget (Brazil side): R$ 4,000,000.​

• Fellowships: R$ 3,000,000 (up to R$ 300,000 per project).
• Consumables: R$ 1,000,000 (up to R$ 100,000 per project).​

On the Türkiye side, under TÜBİTAK’s 1071 Programme:

• Maximum budget: 2,400,000 TL per project (excluding overhead and PTI).
• Maximum project duration: 24 months.

Eligible cost items typically include:

• Personnel and fellowship costs
• Travel expenses and researcher exchange
• Equipment, hardware, software and publication costs
• Consultancy and service procurement
• Materials and consumables

Fellowships and mobility:

• For Brazilian researchers, fellowships can cover monthly living allowances, health insurance, and international air tickets for research stays abroad (typically 1–12 months).
• Short‑term mobility support covers travel and insurance for visits of up to 10 days to Türkiye, facilitating intensive collaboration, joint experiments, and planning.

Eligibility

Eligible institutions (Türkiye)

According to TÜBİTAK rules, the following institutions may act as hosts:

• Higher education institutions (universities)
• Training and research hospitals
• Public institutions and organisations
• Private companies of any sector or size, provided they add technological value and hold a valid trade registry certificate

Principal Investigator (PI) requirements (Türkiye)

• Academic PIs: must hold a PhD degree.
• Public/private sector PIs: must hold at least a BA or BSc degree.
• Private‑sector PIs: must be employed full‑time at their company for at least six months prior to application.
• All PIs must demonstrate sufficient capacity to manage an international research project.

On the Brazilian side, PIs must meet CNPq’s standard eligibility requirements for thematic calls (e.g. affiliation to eligible research institutions, CV registered on the CNPq platform, and compliance with CNPq rules), and submit via the Plataforma Carlos Chagas.

Consortium structure

• Each project must have one Brazilian and one Turkish lead institution/PI.
• Proposals must be submitted in parallel to both CNPq and TÜBİTAK; applications sent to only one agency will not be accepted.

Application process

Key steps:

1. Identify partners
   • Find a suitable research partner in Türkiye or Brazil with complementary expertise and institutional support.
2. Define a joint project
   • Develop a shared research topic clearly aligned to one or more of the priority areas (environment, food/agriculture, health, ICT, physics).
   • Articulate scientific objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and the added value of bilateral collaboration.
3. Design mobility and collaboration plan
   • Specify planned researcher exchanges, visits, joint workshops or fieldwork.
   • Detail roles and responsibilities of each team, data‑sharing, and co‑authorship plans.
4. Prepare budgets (both sides)
   • Structure budget lines within the funding limits (R$ 300k fellowships + R$ 100k consumables per project on the Brazil side; up to 2,400,000 TL on the Türkiye side).
   • Ensure budgets are consistent and complementary across both applications.
5. Check eligibility
   • Confirm that institutions and PIs meet TÜBİTAK and CNPq criteria, including degrees, employment status, and institutional type.
6. Submit applications
   • Brazilian PI: submit through CNPq’s Plataforma Carlos Chagas under the relevant call code.
   • Turkish PI: submit via TÜBİTAK’s electronic system under Programme 1071.
   • Respect both agencies’ internal rules and documentation requirements.

Key dates:

• Application deadline: 4 May 2026, 23:59 (local system deadline)
• E‑signature deadline (Türkiye): 11 May 2026, 23:59

Common pitfalls to avoid

To improve chances of success, applicants should avoid:

• Submitting proposals outside the defined thematic areas
• Exceeding funding limits on either side
• Failing to meet PI qualification or employment requirements
• Weak justification of the bilateral nature and added value of the collaboration and mobility
• Incomplete, inconsistent, or mismatched documentation between the TÜBİTAK and CNPq submissions

The call text is provided here.

Applications are made through TÜBİTAK Online Application System. 

Click HERE to visit the official website.