CNPq MAI/DAI — Industry-University Innovation Fellowships
Funds industry-university fellowships linking graduate students with company teams to strengthen real-world implementation.
The CNPq MAI/DAI program — Mestrado e Doutorado Acadêmico para Inovação — is an industry-university fellowship program that places enrolled graduate and undergraduate students inside Brazilian companies to conduct R&D aligned with real industrial demand. Each fellow has both an academic advisor at the host university and a designated company-side co-supervisor. The most recently announced call offered 960 fellowships at a total budget of R$60.5 million, distributed across four modalities: 240 DAI (doctoral-industrial), 240 MAI (masters-industrial), 60 PDI (postdoctoral-business), and 420 ITI (technological initiation, undergraduate-level). The program was formalized by CNPq Resolution Nº 7/2020, with roots in a DAI pilot launched in 2013.
Private companies participate as partners rather than as direct applicants — the university submits the application to CNPq, not the company. A formal written agreement (convênio) between the company and a Brazilian university with an established graduate program is a prerequisite; establishing this agreement typically takes three to six months. Fellowship stipends are paid to students via the university at CNPq's Tech/Innovation bolsa rates (masters: approximately R$2,100/month; doctoral: approximately R$3,100/month per Portaria 1369/2023); funds do not flow directly to the company. CAPES is a companion partner in program delivery.
Companies seeking to participate in a future MAI/DAI call should prioritize establishing a university partnership well in advance of any call announcement, as the convênio process is the primary bottleneck. The program effectively subsidizes industry-embedded graduate research talent, making it particularly relevant for Brazilian technology and manufacturing companies with active R&D functions. Call-specific timelines and budget envelopes vary per competition; the R$60.5 million figure reflects the most recent announced call and is not a permanent annual envelope.
Industry-embedded graduate research fellowships placing Masters, doctoral, postdoctoral, and undergraduate students inside Brazilian companies to conduct R&D aligned with real industrial demand, requiring a formal university–company partnership.
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