Perception of Capes scholarship holders about the impact of postdoctoral training abroad on scientific work

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the impact of Capes’ postdoctoral training policy abroad (pd_training) on the insertion or quality of the scholarship holder’s work in their department/group in Brazil. The article empirically discusses post-doctorate as a strategy for the internationalization of science and adopts a qualitative approach, based on the automated content analysis technique, to investigate the data collected at the end of the scholarship holders’ activities by Capes itself. The results point to positive impacts, connected to the common perception of increased possibility of collaboration between national and foreign groups, as well as international visibility arising from relevant scientific publications. The positive impacts are also connected to specific perceptions, directly associated with the types of scholarships received and indirectly with the profile of the scholarship holder. Specifically, Visiting Professor scholarship holders tend to cite, as an impact of their training, the possibility of greater international insertion of the departments to which they are linked and greater mobility of students and researchers who are part of their research group in Brazil. Those who have a Post-Doctoral scholarship highlight greater professional insertion, related to opportunities in the job market for scientists in Brazil or the lack thereof. Those who have a Post-Doctoral Internship scholarship tend to associate the acquisition and application of new knowledge and techniques as a positive effect of their training. In conclusion, the results point to the importance of the articulation between the profile of the scholarship holders and the intentionality projected for the public training policy_pd, aiming to guarantee its effectiveness.