The science has been on the political agenda throughout the day on Wednesday. In the morning, the new board of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) took office in Lisbon. Paul Stinger, the new president, said that the foundation will serve the scientific community, with evaluation and financing, but also called for accountability to the community. In the afternoon, Manuel Heitor, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, visited the Assembly of the Republic (AR) in the first debate on science in the new legislature, where he spoke of the new policies, including a program for research in polytechnics (there are 16), which will have five million since 2016.
the Program for Modernization and Improvement of polytechnics will “encourage research centers in the polytechnics closely with the productive, social and economic fabric of the various regions, “explained Manuel Heitor, hours before, journalists, even at the Thalia Theatre, where he was being sworn in.
After the signatures, Paulo Ferrao addressed a home full, explaining how will the FCT “serve” the scientific community. “Serve requires the opening of guarantee to the dialogue and the mutual involvement of FCT with the scientific community,” he said. But “requires joint responsibility and this must be the brand that we propose in the relationship between all actors”
Examples of this co-responsibility:. The involvement of universities in the enlargement of scientific employment and stability; the commitment of the FCT to increase the annual grants program; accountability of each researcher to focus on sources of funding on priority areas and do not apply to all competitions; promoting the FCT diversifying sources of public funding for scientific activity.
Manuel Heitor believes there is “a change budget” that will allow the FCT to launch new policies. According to the proposal of the State Budget (OE) for 2016, announced last Friday, that institution will have 502 million euros available, including about 77 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). “It strengthens the FCT budget by 4% [compared to 2005]. I believe that 2016 will be the end of the systematic reduction of investment in science and higher education, “the minister told reporters.
In the proposal of the State Budget also included the hiring of 400 doctorates by universities for community renewal scientific. “We want to design a program with universities to facilitate the introduction of these doctorates in future careers, to reduce insecurity,” he said, also told reporters, Paul Ferrao.
All of these changes represent a desire to “relaunch science and their contribution to human development and national economic, “had said the president of the FCT, moments before, even during his speech. Paulo Ferrao want so turn the page after four years as it considers that the FCT and the Ministry of Science walked back turned for a significant part of the scientific community.
About two months ago, Manuel Heitor marked the beginning of their duties with the creation of a reflection group to define the future of the FCT, which included elements of the scientific community, universities, polytechnics and voices as the Association of Scholarship for scientific Research. On Wednesday, both at the Thalia Theater as in the afternoon, in RA, the Minister issued an his letter and the State Science Secretary of Technology and Higher Education, Maria Fernanda Rollo, in retrieving the group’s recommendations reflection on the future of the FCT.
Thus, the minister wants to “refocus the actions of the FCT”. One of the objectives for this reorientation is the “launch in the coming weeks a new evaluation process of research and development activity,” said Manuel Heitor, an announcement that was welcomed by the left parties in RA. This measure comes in response to heavy criticism evaluation to research units held by the previous management of the FCT, chaired by Miguel Seabra, and the then Minister of Science, Nuno Crato, and the Secretary of State of Science, Leonor Parreira.
No comments:
Post a Comment