USS Secures 23 Fondecyt 2025 Regular Projects and Ranks Among the Top 10 Universities in Chile
Universidad San Sebastián (USS) nearly doubles its number of awarded projects in the 2025 Regular Fondecyt competition, reaffirming its position among the top 10 universities in Chile, and placing 8th nationwide.
With 23 research projects selected by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (Fondecyt), USS continues its upward trajectory in scientific production. This figure represents a significant increase compared to previous years and reflects the institution’s growing commitment to research excellence.
“Since 2021, we’ve gone from having just four approved projects to 23 in 2025. This growth highlights the growing importance of research at our university—not only in supporting teaching but also in contributing to national development by generating new knowledge and responding to the challenges of our environment,” said USS Chancellor Hugo Lavados.
The total funding awarded for these 23 projects exceeds CLP $4,715 million, more than doubling last year’s figure of CLP $2,000 million. With these results, USS maintains 8th place nationally in terms of awarded projects and ranks second among non-traditional private universities.
Dr. Tomás Pérez-Acle, Vice-Rector of Research and Doctoral Programs, emphasized: “These awards reflect the effort of our academic community to generate fundamental knowledge that addresses the major challenges we face as a society. They also confirm USS’s role in expanding scientific knowledge and advancing national development. These results consolidate our university as one that is deeply committed to excellence in both teaching and research.”
What Is Fondecyt Regular?
The Fondecyt Regular program, managed by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), supports research projects that push the boundaries of knowledge in all fields of understanding. It promotes academic progress across scientific, technological, social, and humanistic disciplines, contributing to Chile’s intellectual and societal advancement.
Research Across the Country
This year’s awarded projects demonstrate the territorial diversity of research at USS, with initiatives led from across the country:
- Santiago Campus leads with 11 awarded projects.
- Concepción Campus is represented by researchers including Maichel Aguayo, Andrea Cocio, Eric Forcael, and Iván Ñancucheo, with 2 projects selected.
- Valdivia Campus also stands out, with projects led by Carlos Isler, Rodrigo Cárcamo, and Mauricio Valenzuela.
A notable highlight is the strong participation of female researchers, who lead 6 of the 23 awarded projects, reflecting USS’s growing commitment to gender equity in research.
The selected initiatives span a wide range of disciplines, including:
- Biomedical Sciences
- Engineering
- Humanities
- Legal Sciences
- Psychology
- Economics, among others
This variety demonstrates the breadth and strength of USS’s research lines, as well as the university’s relevance in addressing diverse societal and scientific challenges.
National Overview
At the national level, the institutions with the highest number of awarded projects in the Fondecyt Regular 2025 competition are:
- Universidad de Chile
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
- Universidad de Concepción
Universidad San Sebastián continues to grow its presence in this competitive landscape, affirming its commitment to research, innovation, and impact.
“Based on 2021, we went from 4 to 23 projects approved by ANID (National Agency of Research and Development). This shows the relevance that research has gained at the university, supporting teaching, and contributing to the country’s development by creating new knowledge and responding with proposals to the challenges of the environment”, Hugo Lavados, rector of USS said.
Overall, the amounts awarded for the 23 projects are more than $4715 million CLP, more than the Ch$2,000 million granted last year.
With this result Universidad San Sebastián remains in 8th place among the universities in Chile with the biggest number of projects selected and is second among the non-traditional private universities.
The vice-rector of Research and PhD’s, Dr. Tomás Pérez-Acle, commented that the awarding of these projects “emphasize the efforts of our academic community in the creation of fundamental knowledge that allows us to address the great challenges we face as a society, contributing to expand the scientific knowledge and development of Chile. These results are the reflection of our academics’ abilities, consolidating the USS as a university committed to the excellence in teaching and researching.”
The FONDECYT Regular contest is pushed forward by the National Agency of Research and Development (ANID), whose objective is to promote the development of research projects that expand the knowledge borders in all the areas of understanding, promoting academic progress in scientific, technological, social and humanistic disciplines.
Research in the territories
The distribution of awarded projects underlines the territorial scope of research at Universidad San Sebastián, with proposals led from Santiago with 11 projects, followed by initiatives led by researchers such as Maichel Aguayo, Andrea Cocio, Eric Forcael, Ivan Ñancucheo and two from Concepción campus, and Carlos Isler, Rodrigo Cárcamo and Mauricio Valenzuela, along with three researchers from Valdivia campus.
A highlight of this call for proposals is the participation of female researchers leading 6 projects. Among other areas, the selected projects cover areas such as biomedical sciences, engineering, humanities, legal sciences, psychology and economics, among others, reflecting the diversity and broad spectrum of research lines at the university.
At national scale the ranking leaders of selected projects by ANID are: Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica and Universidad de Concepción.