USP academic centers sue Fapesp over changes to international research grants

Academic centers from the University of São Paulo (USP), specifically the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuarial Sciences (FEA-USP), have filed a public civil action against the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp).

The lawsuit seeks an immediate injunction to suspend new regulations that discontinue the Research Internship Abroad Scholarship (BEPE) for undergraduate research and Master's students. Additionally, the students are contesting a reduction in the maximum duration for doctoral and post-doctoral internships, which is set to decrease from 12 months to 6 months.

According to the student entities, these changes, effective September 1, will restrict internationalization opportunities to doctoral and post-doctoral levels only. Critics argue the decision represents an elitization of science by removing support for the base of research, potentially making academic internationalization a privilege for those who can self-fund.