Argentina's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has announced around 3,700 extra PhD and postdoc science scholarships for 2011. The ministry's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research will add the merit-based awards to this year's total of 8,122, which marked a 350% increase in government scholarships since 2003. The stipend amounts for those awards have increased by as much as 400% since 2004. “We need more scientists in order to enter the knowledge-based economy,” says Lino Barañao, the science minister. The scholarships are open to all nationalities, he says. Argentina aspires to be a training centre for Latin America.