Each of the three of the country within the universities will turn out to have a research center specialized in a field related to their regions economy. University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), University of Beira Interior (UBI) and the University of Évora (EU) signed, on Friday in Covilha, memos where is formalized their intention to constitute “centers Racing “, who have the ambition to become European leaders in each of its areas of expertise.
This strategy represents a new direction in science by the government – which sponsors the initiative with the Ministers of Education and Science, Nuno Crato, and Regional Development, Miguel Poiares Maduro. The idea appears even the electoral program of Portugal coalition Toe, which took the view that the way to reduce regional disparities is to establish “a program for creating R Centers & amp; D & I [research, development and innovation] of excellence in the interior regions of low population density, aligned with RIS3 [Regional Smart Specialisation Strategy] of the region, with strong links to the business community “.
Each higher education institution signs a memorandum with the its Commission for Coordination and Regional Development (North, Centre and Alentejo), with which it also defined the selection of areas of action of these structures. Thus, UTAD will specialize in the vineyard and wine, capitalizing on the fact that it is based on the Douro. The UBI will create a computing skills center in the cloud and health, following up on an existing collaboration with the Data Processing Center ( datacenter ) of Covilha. For the EU, the agricultural sectors were defined, water and energy as priority, benefiting from the relationship with the Alqueva dam.
“What’s new here is that we are taking a very initial investment strong to create critical mass where there is none, “values the Deputy Minister and Regional Development, Miguel Poiares Maduro. The three centers have secured funding under the Portugal 2020, for a period of up to six years. Initially, each structure receives funding of 150,000 euros. Until September 15, each university (in conjunction with the CCDR and the Foundation for Science and Technology) should indicate a group of three international experts who will be responsible for outlining their strategies and select the picture researchers and the director of each center, which is intended to be a recognized researcher in the area.
From there, each center can capture Community funds through the regional operational programs, with invitations that will be addressed by each CCDR. The budgets provided for each of these structures vary between 1.5 and two million per year. “The intention is that at the end of this period, the centers start to be able to finance themselves competitively in competitions and international projects,” said Maduro.
The launch of this new strategy for science comes after a year marked by criticism of the divestment of the Government in the sector, especially from the first phase of the evaluation of research centers by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This process excludes about half of scientific laboratories and hit with special severity of the structures inside the country. A paradigmatic case is that of Évora. The evaluation of the FCT ranked with “Good” (which implies a minimum funding) the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Mediterranean agro-food sector is now chosen as central to the new center of excellence.
The dean of the EU, Ana Costa Freitas, refusing, however, that this is a mechanism of “compensation” from inside the institutions. “The logic here is different. This seems to me, yes, the first real measure for higher education network restructuring. It is recognized that these universities are central to regional development and the country and this has to be internationally recognized “values.
Fontainhas Fernandes, rector of UTAD also refused the idea of” clearing ” even argue that the logic followed by the Government in this initiative serves as a counterpoint to the main error of assessment of FCT: “Now it’s finally taken into account the specific situation of these universities. The scientific system analysis can not be made solely on the basis ratios of researchers and articles indicators. “
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