The duration of a researcher’s contract is a maximum of 12 (twelve) months at a time, provided that it does not extend more than two months beyond the completion date of the project on which the researcher is employed. Provided that the researcher remains within the seven-year period following the completion of a doctoral degree or a specialty training program in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine, or a degree of proficiency in the arts, a researcher may be assigned under this scope for a total of no more than 3 (three) years.

However, if there are less than 16 months remaining until the end of the project on which the researcher is to be employed, or less than 18 months remaining until the expiration of the maximum period for which the researcher may be employed in accordance with Article 5 of these Guidelines and relevant legislation, the contract term may be offered for up to 18 (eighteen) months.

In order for the contract term to be extended, the Principal Investigator’s reasoned positive opinion and the researcher’s academic activity report covering the previous period must be submitted to the Evaluation Committee for approval at least three months prior to the contract’s expiration date.

For term extensions, the researcher must still be within the seven-year postdoctoral period.

In contract extension proposals, information regarding the researcher’s contribution to the project undertaken during the previous contract period, as well as the scientific work and publications completed during that period, must be submitted to the Higher Education Council. The following documents must be submitted in full for the contract extension application:
a. Contract extension application letter
b. An activity report detailing the progress of the project from the previous period, the applicant’s contribution to the project, and their academic outputs.

If there are less than 3 (three) months remaining until the completion of the project in which the researcher is engaged, an application for an extension of the term may not be submitted.

The researcher is required to submit an Interim Progress Report regarding the work conducted during the contract period to the Academic Advisor at the intervals specified by the Academic Advisor.

If the project in which the researcher is engaged is terminated for any reason, the researcher’s contract automatically terminates. In such cases, the researcher will be given at least 1 (one) month’s written notice.