This project engages with the topic of digital transition in the development of careers in science, focusing on the experiences of people employed in research centres at Portuguese universities. It has the main aim of exploring how these processes have transformed the research profession, with positive and negative consequences for researchers’ personal and professional development, including work/life balance and internationalization. Through evidence-based analysis, the objective of the project is to help inform policymakers and stakeholders in the Research and Development (R&D) sector of the economy about these issues as they pertain to Portugal, and create a better understanding of the impact of digital transitions on the lives of professionals for wider research communities. Theoretically, the project situates digital transitions within a mobilities context. Significantly, this body of work has acknowledged the importance of greater global interconnectedness and a reliance upon information technology in highly qualified professions. This extends to the research teams’ own contributions to the mobilities research field, including the idea that many societies are currently experiencing an immobility turn arising from a problematization of corporeal travel within urban environments and an expansion of digital work platforms, at national and international levels. These developments create new possibilities and a wider range of connections, but also place impositions on researchers, including an erosion of personal time and space by work imperatives. In regard to empirical approach, research questions aim to explore not only the extent of digitalization in research units, including key tasks relating to experimental work, field studies and international collaboration, as well as the normalization of remote working, but also the impact on the domestic sphere, taking a cross-sectional approach covering researchers at different career stages, enabling the research team to look at past and present situations. Primary research in the form of a web survey and qualitative interviews is accompanied by analysis of existing data, including reappraisal of prior work conducted by the research team. As might be expected of a proposal focusing on digital transitions, approaches to dissemination make use of digital platforms alongside traditional academic publishing, engaging with national and international audiences. This includes the hosting of virtual events, including cross-project collaborations, as well as the preparation of three open access peer reviewed journal articles. As an exploratory project, the work to be undertaken will provide a solid foundation for future research endeavours from the research team, which will include research proposals for European agencies and network development, as well as contributing to the academic culture of the host institution.

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