Knowledge News News
- UMIC Supports the University of Algarve New Medical School Program
On September 4, 2009, in a ceremony held at the University of Algarve chaired by the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, the President of the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and the Rector of the University of Algarve signed a protocol regarding the support by UMIC of 1.6 million euros for an initial investment in the medical school whose classes will started on September 8, 2009. The funding now provided is intended for educational content, infrastructure, hardware, and related human resources. - Publication of the Results of the International Assessment of Research Units
The Results of the International Assessment of Research Units, covered by the Multiannual Financing Programme for the FCT R&D Units, were published by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, IP, on 17 December 2008. The process of international assessment of the country’s research units, started in 1996 and repeated in 1999-2000 and 2002-2004, follows international standards and analyses, in particular, the best work selected by each R&D unit, in order to allow analysis by independent specialists of the scientific activity carried out, as opposed to using merely quantitative indicators.
- R&D Activities in Portugal show the Largest Growth in any EU country
Portugal was the EU country which showed the largest growth in R&D expenditure in terms of GDP from 2005 to 2007, reaching 1.18% of GDP when in 2005 it was just 0.81% of GDP. Portugal is now close to Spain (1.22%) and Ireland (1.31%), and has passed Hungary (0.97%), Italy (1.09%) and Estonia (1.14%). R&D expenditure in terms of GDP more than doubled from to 2005 to 2007, reaching 0.61% of GDP when in 2005 it was just 0.29% of GDP. For the first time R&D expenditure in companies was greater than the amount recorded for other institutions. The number of companies with R&D activities showed unparalleled growth, rising from around 930 in 2005 to more than 1,500 in 2007.
There was a large increase in the number of researchers in the active population, rising from 3.8‰ in 2005 to 5.0‰ in 2007, with the number of researchers equivalent to full time posts doubling in the last ten years (from around 14 thousand in 1997 to around 28 thousand in 2007). The number of researchers in the active population is now close to the EU27 average (5.6‰), although this is still lower that the OCDE average (7.0‰).
The number of researchers in companies more than doubled from 2005 to 2007, moving from around 4 thousand to 8.6 thousand, and was accompanied by an increase in the number of researchers which companies stated as having PhDs (around 360 in 2007).
- Technological Portugal 2008
Pavilions 2 and 3 of FIL - the Industrial Fair of Lisbon, situated in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon, played host to the Fair “Technological Portugal 2008”, which was held on 18 to 23 November 2008 and which was open to the public as a whole, with the aim of providing contact with what is best in Portugal in the areas of technology, innovation and knowledge, including sectors such as Energy, Telecommunications, Education, Health, Tourism, Mobility, Security, and the Automobile Industry. The central theme of the module on Science (content in portuguese) was the new frontiers in science and scientists in Portugal. This module included around 400 photographs of new scientists hired by scientific institutions in the last two years under the scope of the Programmeme to stimulate scientific employment, financed by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, which aims to ensure the contracting of at least more than 1,000 graduates by the end of the parliamentary term. There were also various installations in two distinct spaces, where events were organised under the scope of the Partnerships for the Future activity integrated within the Commitment to Science for the Future of Portugal initiative.
- Portuguese Young People amongst the Most Interested in Science News
September 2008 saw the publication of a report from Eurobarometer entitled Young People and Science, This was based on a survey carried out in September 2008 by the Gallup Organisation, Hungry, at the request of the Directorate-General for Research in the European Commission.
- Workshop on Why do We Need Graduate Schools to Enlighten Science and Promote Research Universities?
As part of the Lisbon Research and Policy Workshops on Science, Technology and Social Change, organised under the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a Workshop on Why do we need graduate schools to enlighten science and promote research universities? ... A dialogue across different experiences in Europe will be held on 10th and 11th December 2007 at the Fundação das Comunicações, Lisbon.One of the aspects under the microscope is the increasing trend for post-graduate schools to be seen as an efficient way of locating basic research organisation and as drivers for innovation, and their increased links with industry and the entrepreneurial world.
- Council of EU Science Ministers meeting approves Various Strategic Initiatives
The Council of the European Union’s Competitiveness Council dedicated to Research met on 23rd November 2007 in Brussels. Under the chairmanship of the Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, José Mariano Gago, Science ministers from EU countries and the European Commission, represented by the Commissioner for Research, Janez Potocnik, and the Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, approved the agreement prepared by the Portuguese Presidency to launch the first public-private strategic partnerships between Member States, the European Commission and Industry, to a value of 9.3 billion euros, 50% to 60% funded by companies involved in the projects, depending on the initiative in question, and the remainder coming from the Commission and the EU’s Member States over the next six years. This represents an unprecedented investment in public-private partnerships in R&D aid policy in the EU and in addition to concentrating funds in specific initiatives, aims to encourage companies to invest more in R&D.
- Workshop on New Financing Schemes for Fostering Science and Technological Innovation
As part of the Lisbon Research and Policy Workshops on Science, Technology and Social Change, organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a Workshop on What is the potential of new financing schemes for fostering science and technological innovation? … Balancing private and public, national and global incentives, will be held on 12th – 13th November 2007 at the Fundação das Comunicações, Lisbon.
One of the aspects under examination will be the emergence of new funding possibilities, such as the channelling of global liquidity pool resources into science and technology, as well as using new risk management tools.
- "The Future of Scientific Research in Portugal" Seminar
The “Future of Scientific Research in Portugal” Seminar is being held on 19th October 2007 at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)’s Foz Campus in Porto in honour of Professor Francisco Carvalho Guerra.
- Workshop on Real Science, Reliable Knowledge, "Open Science" and Property Knowledge
As part of the Lisbon Research and Policy Workshops on Science, Technology and Social Change (in Portuguese), organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a Workshop on Real Science, Reliable Knowledge and the Complementarity of “Open Science” and Property Knowledge will be held on 1st-2nd October 2007 at the Fundação das Comunicações, Lisbon.
- Workshop Revisiting Polytechnic and Vocational Education
As part of the Lisbon Research and Policy Workshops on Science, Technology and Social Change (in Portuguese), organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a Workshop on Revisiting Polytechnic and Vocational Education – Looking at the complex nature of diversified higher education systems and their relation with new challenges in science and technology will be held on 15th-16th October 2007 at the Fundação das Comunicações, Lisbon.
- High Level Conference "The Future of Science and Technology in Europe"
In the scope of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a High Level Conference on The Future of Science and Technology in Europe will be held from 8th to 10th October 2007 at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon. Many of Europe’s most important institutional and scientific community stakeholders will be present at this conference.
The High Level Conference "The Future of Science and Technology in Europe" agenda, with links to the presentations available online, includes plenary sessions where discussions will be held on such topics as: challenges for Science and Technology (S&T) in Europe, promoting and attracting human resources to research, public and private investment in research, a vision of the future of S&T in Europe.
- World Conference on Research Integrity
As part of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, the 1st World Conference on Research Integrity – Promoting Responsible Research, organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the US Office of Research Integrity (ORI) of the Department of Health and Human Services, USA, will be held from 16th to 19th September2007 in Lisbon. In Portugal, the organisation enjoys the support of the Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES), the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG). For more information, go to the ESF web pages on this conference.
- Informal Meeting of Ministers for Competitiveness Research
In the scope of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU, the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Competitiveness – Research will be held on 19th-20th July 2007, as part of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU’s desire to contribute towards implementing the Lisbon Strategy in the Science and Technology field by providing a new impetus and to strengthen this topic’s standing on the European agenda seven years after the March 2000 European Council in Lisbon defined the strategic objective for the next decade of “making the EU the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economic area in the world, while providing sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and more social cohesion.”
- Workshop on High Tech Entrepreneurship: Implications for Science Policy and Education
As part of the Lisbon Research and Policy Workshops on Science, Technology and Social Change (in Portuguese), organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, a Workshop on High Tech Entrepreneurship: Implications for Science Policy and Education will be held on 5th – 6th July 2007 at the Fundação das Comunicações, Lisbon.
This workshop is being jointly organised with the CMU – Portugal Program’s PhD in Technological Change and Entrepreneurship Program.
- European Research Council Meeting
In the scope of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU, the European Research Council will meet on 3rd-4th July 2007 in Lisbon. This will be the Presidency’s first official event in the Science and Technology field and as such is being given special attention through the organisation of a public event with the Scientific Council of the ERC and the Portuguese scientific community (text in Portuguese), on 3rd July, from 9-11 am at the Centro Cultural de Belém. The event will be attended by Portugal’s Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education, José Mariano Gago, and the Commissioner for Research, Janez Potocnik.
- Open Source Software Agreement
At the Forum for the Information Society held in Aveiro on 10th March 2006, Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and the company Sun Microsystems signed a cooperation agreement on making open source software freely available to researchers, professors, students and civil servants conducting any activities related to teaching, research and the development of information technologies.