{"id":517086,"date":"2024-08-20T14:30:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T17:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=517086"},"modified":"2024-08-20T15:03:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:03:22","slug":"preparatory-events-gather-suggestions-for-the-national-conference-on-science-technology-and-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/preparatory-events-gather-suggestions-for-the-national-conference-on-science-technology-and-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparatory events gather suggestions for the National Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last March saw a series of events nationwide to discuss the future of science, technology, and innovation in Brazil. In 22 states and the Federal District, 64 preparatory events for the Brazilian National Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation brought together thousands of researchers, students, officials, business leaders, and civil society representatives, attending both in person and online. These events yielded valuable insights and recommendations to inform policymaking and governmental strategies over the next decade. A draft of these recommendations will be further refined at the forthcoming conference in Bras\u00edlia, scheduled for June 4 to 6 under the theme, \u201cScience, Technology, and Innovation for a More Just, Sustainable, and Developed Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the preparatory events was the S\u00e3o Paulo State Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation, hosted March 7 and 8 at the auditorium of the State Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Key topics discussed included research funding, researcher training, the energy transition, and artificial intelligence. In Macap\u00e1, a state conference at Amap\u00e1 State University (UEAP) on March 6 and 7 explored recommendations from scientists and government representatives to advance technology-based ventures and the sustainable use of Amazon biodiversity. Concurrently, on March 7, another conference at the Porto Alegre campus of Vale do Rio dos Sinos University (UNISINOS) provided an opportunity for the scientific community of Rio Grande do Sul to discuss the focal topics of the upcoming national conference, such as revitalizing the national science and technology system, countering deindustrialization, and leveraging science in strategic national and social development programs.<\/p>\n

In addition to the 18 state conferences, nine thematic meetings held throughout March convened experts around topics selected by the organizers of the national event. For instance, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) hosted a symposium in Rio de Janeiro on the role of basic science in knowledge creation, while the Ministry of Defense organized a conference in Bras\u00edlia addressing technological challenges in the military and defense sectors. The Federal University of ABC (UFABC) explored the potential of artificial intelligence in S\u00e3o Bernardo do Campo (SP). Open-ended conferences were also organized independently by various groups and institutions. In Tr\u00eas Lagoas (MS), discussions centered on bolstering innovation in businesses outside major Brazilian cities. Conferences hosted in Manaus (AM) and Florian\u00f3polis (SC) explored avenues for integrating scientific knowledge with Indigenous wisdom and advocated for greater opportunities for women and girls in science. In Bahia, discussions focused on the gaming industry\u2019s contribution to technological advancement in Brazil. \u201cEven municipal governments have held preparatory meetings and will submit suggestions based on their needs to the Bras\u00edlia conference,\u201d says physicist Anderson Gomes, a researcher at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and deputy secretary-general of the national conference. He notes that preparations for the conference began in January, including a two-month series of preparatory seminars facilitated by the Brazilian Funding Authority for Studies and Projects (FINEP).<\/p>\n

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L\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp | Camilo Lobo\u2009\/\u2009Di\u00e1logo Chino<\/span>Preparatory events also addressed issues like social development and the energy transitionL\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp | Camilo Lobo\u2009\/\u2009Di\u00e1logo Chino<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The event organizers have developed a form to collate the inputs and suggestions from panel discussions and keynote speakers, all of which will be submitted to the organizers of the national conference. Capturing the essence of so many voices is no trivial task. \u201cThe sheer volume of information available is staggering. We anticipate no fewer than 170 preparatory events leading up to the national conference,\u201d remarks Gomes. He adds that a firm will be engaged to organize the recommendations using artificial intelligence, assisting the Collation and Documentation Subcommittee and the Conference Program Committee in reviewing suggestions. In the preceding national conference in 2010, the resulting outputs were curated into a set of 300 recommendations.<\/p>\n

The legacy from the current edition promises to extend beyond a compilation of curated suggestions. Glaucius Oliva, a physicist at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP) and coordinator of the S\u00e3o Paulo State Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation, notes that there has been uniquely extensive engagement across the entire science and technology ecosystem, including universities, public and private research institutions, and innovation-based companies. \u201cBroad, multistakeholder discussion to chart the course of science over the next decade creates a dynamic environment that should have a positive effect on policy implementation, as all stakeholders will see themselves part of the effort,\u201d he says. Even suggestions not selected for the national conference could prove useful. \u201cThe state conference facilitated internal discussions on our forthcoming initiatives to bolster Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) in S\u00e3o Paulo,\u201d notes Vahan Agopyan, State Secretary for Science, Technology, and Innovation and chair of the conference.<\/p>\n

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L\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span>The Amazon, and semiconductor technology are some of the themes selected for the thematic and open-ended conferencesL\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The topics discussed at the S\u00e3o Paulo event were selected from the national conference program as being most relevant to the state. \u201cIn our discussion on the energy transition, for instance, our focus was on balancing emerging renewable energy sources with S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s predominant strength, namely ethanol production,\u201d says Glaucius Oliva. S\u00e3o Paulo also has an emissions profile that differs from that of the rest of the country. While deforestation and agriculture are the primary sources of emissions nationally\u2014jointly accounting for three-quarters of the total\u2014S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s leading source is fossil fuels. \u201cWe also had a very insightful discussion on science outreach, with a particular emphasis on countering misinformation and denialism\u2014issues that demand a deeper scientific understanding for effective mitigation, as seen during the pandemic,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

In his opening address at the S\u00e3o Paulo conference, Marco Antonio Zago, chairman of the FAPESP Board of Trustees, emphasized the urgent need to strengthen regional and state ST&I systems to address the significant regional disparities prevailing today. \u201cIn S\u00e3o Paulo, the local government\u2019s contribution to ST&I surpasses that of the federal government,\u201d he pointed out. Oliva believes that S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s decades-long funding model\u2014combining substantial and consistent state investment in higher education and research with full academic independence\u2014could serve as a blueprint for the final document in Bras\u00edlia. \u201cOur decentralized approach, which has played a role in the state\u2019s industrial development, could help to enhance regional science and technology systems. One avenue involves increasing state investments backed by federal funding to address local needs.”<\/p>\n

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L\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp | Marcos Santos\u2009\/\u2009USP Imagens<\/span>Conferences in several states explored topics such as women and girls in STEM fields and the development of new fuelsL\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa Fapesp | Marcos Santos\u2009\/\u2009USP Imagens<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

A session on researcher training came to the conclusion that Brazil\u2019s graduate programs need to change if they are to attract a sizable enough contingent of young talents. Marcio de Castro Silva Filho, scientific director at FAPESP, identified a list of needed changes, such as providing broader, cross-disciplinary training to enable researchers to cultivate new skills in innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, and giving researchers greater exposure to societal issues and the opportunity to collaborate in solving those issues through networking. Carlos Am\u00e9rico Pacheco, chief executive officer of FAPESP’s Executive Board, offered a positive assessment of the conference\u2019s two-day proceedings. \u201cWe\u2019ve assembled compelling ideas that can contribute a great deal to improving the nation\u2019s ST&I policies,\u201d says Pacheco. \u201cNational science and technology conferences serve to mobilize the scientific community in constructive discussion and consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 19, the FAPESP auditorium hosted a thematic conference on university-industry collaboration in Brazil. Industry notables like Bernardo Gradin, founder and president of industrial biotechnology company Granbio, and Andr\u00e9 Clark, former president of Siemens Brazil and current senior vice president of Siemens Energy for Latin America, were among the guest speakers at the event. They engaged in discussions with university officials such as Antonio Jos\u00e9 de Almeida Meirelles, dean of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), on opportunities and constraints in fostering linkages between private sector research and public research institutions. Renowned experts in science and technology policy, including Fernanda De Negri, an economist at the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), and physicist Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, FAPESP\u2019s former scientific director for 15 years, also contributed insights. Some of the key challenges they highlighted included the historically limited involvement of industry in research and development efforts, notwithstanding successive legislative efforts over the past two decades to incentivize greater innovation investment. Despite the inherent cultural differences between academic and industry organizations, event participants were unanimous in their view that collaboration is slowly becoming more frequent and productive.<\/p>\n

The preparatory phase will conclude in April with regional conferences hosted in Vila Velha (ES), Manaus (AM), Recife (PE), Curitiba (PR), and Goi\u00e2nia (GO) to discuss state-specific agendas. Additionally, around 40 open-ended conferences are anticipated, covering diverse topics such as intellectual property, how science benefits agribusiness, the contribution of humanities to societal progress, the importance of science centers and museums, and the implications of brain drain. These preparatory events will lead up to the national conference in Bras\u00edlia next June, which is expected to draw between 1,500 and 2,000 in-person attendees along with a large online audience for its lectures, roundtable discussions, and side sessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of meetings held across Brazil bring together the scientific community and other sectors of society","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":517091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[234,214,256],"coauthors":[98],"class_list":["post-517086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policies-st-en","tag-finance","tag-political-science","tag-public-policies","position_at_home-sumario"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517086"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":517110,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517086\/revisions\/517110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517086"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=517086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}