Cambridge hosts conference on internationalisation of Brazilian science

Attendees from universities all around the UK and beyond –in some cases as far as Milan, Berlin and Madrid—gathered to discuss the subject of “The Internationalization of Science, Technology and Knowledge in Contemporary Brazil” – a timely theme to tackle in the same week that Nature magazine listed Brazil as a key player in the global map of science.

After words of welcome from ABEP president and Cambridge postgraduate Camila Condilo, and from CUBS president Emilene Zitkus, Brazil’s ambassador to the U.K., H.E. Roberto Jaguaribe, spoke of his excitement at being in post at this moment of “increased visibility” for Brazil, and at such a crucial juncture for the country’s science and technology.

He described the Brazilian government’s flagship mobility programme, Science without Borders, as “a game changer”, adding that “the president [Dilma Rouseff] is personally determined that the programme should run smoothly.” Science without Borders (SWB) aims to send 101,000 Brazilian students in science, technology, mathematics and the creative industries abroad over the next five years. At least 10,000 of them are expected to arrive in the United Kingdom.

“Brazilians studying abroad tend to be concentrated in the social sciences. Only 6% of university students in Brazil are in engineering.  There are deficiencies in the market that SWB hopes to correct.”

He described some of the scheme’s teething problems –including the UK tightening its visa regime—which have been dealt with and solved “at the highest level”.

Speaking on behalf of the University’s International Strategy Office, Ángel Gurría-Quintana described Cambridge’s growing engagement with Brazil. “The Cambridge-Brazil relationship goes back to at least 1832, when Charles Darwin collected Brazilian plant specimens that are preserved in the university’s Herbarium,” he explained, adding that today Cambridge has collaborations with Brazilian universities and research institutes in all Schools, all Strategic Initiatives and most Strategic Networks.

There were breakout sessions for talks on the work carried out by conference attendees in the social sciences and humanities, in the biological sciences, and in politics, law and education.

Speakers in the afternoon session included Cambridge alumni Professor Adroaldo Zanella, Chair in Animal Health and Welfare at the Scottish Rural College, who talked about the role of Brazilian researchers in the creation of international partnerships; Professor Donald Broom, of Cambridge’s Veterinary School, who described how the Brazilian research landscape has changed since 1992, when he was first invited to lecture in Brazil; and Oxford’s Roberta Gregoli, president of EMA Women, the network for Erasmus Mundus alumnae, who discussed the difficulty faced by many Brazilians wishing to have their studies abroad officially validated in Brazil.

In the day’s final session, Dr Juliana Bertazzo, who is responsible for the management of SWB within the Brazilian embassy’s Academic Section, described the programme’s success in the UK and emphasised the opportunities that are available not only for prospective PhD students from Brazil, but also for UK academics wishing to do research in Brazil.

Professor Mariano Laplane, president of the Centre for Strategic Management and Research (CGEE), reminded attendees that “Brazilian science was internationalized from the moment of its birth”.

He pointed to the fact that the country’s university system was modelled on the French system – the University of São Paulo had anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss among its founders.

In the 70s, he continued, the military government sent many of its brightest researchers to spend time abroad, laying the foundations for today’s infrastructure.

“What is different about the Brazilian government’s current efforts is the scale of the process. Does Brazil need such a large mobility programme? The answer is yes. We are a country in a hurry. SWB offers us a short cut that will allow us to achieve our potential.”

The event was sponsored by BP and by Commercial Doctor, and supported by CLAS, by Newnham College and by the Brazilian Government. Presentations by participants are available at https://abepuk.wordpress.com/congressos/congresso2012/

Picture: the Iconic Coppan Building in Sao Paolo