From 25 to 27/09 Fapesp Week Conference

30 Aug, 2013

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts hails huge potential of  ties with Brazil

Universities  and Science Minister Rt Hon. David Willetts MP will announce that Britain and Brazil are to forge stronger scientific links, when he addresses a conference at London’s Royal Society hosted by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) on 25th September.

In his upcoming keynote speech  to the   FAPESP Week conference being held 25th-27th September ,  Willetts will acknowledge Brazil’s rising position   in research rankings, and emphasize the importance of UK-Brazil cooperation.

  It is estimated in a report commissioned by Willetts’ own department, that higher education links with Brazil are already worth over £200m to the UK economy.

“Brazil has a growing reputation for developing cutting edge research, particularly in life sciences where there are huge growth opportunities” said the minister. “It’s essential that the UK works closely with colleagues from Brazil to maximize this potential.”

Willetts said the conference would:  “bring the brightest minds from both countries together, allowing scientists to create networks that could make a huge difference for years to come.”

Of the impending FAPESP Conference speech, FAPESP’s Scientific Director, Professor Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, said   “We are delighted that Minister Willetts will be attending the FAPESP Week symposium to deliver the keynote speech. São Paulo has a thriving environment for research and development. Now, we’re seeing an intensification of international research collaboration, and this will be decisive for the economy.”

NOTES

Additional to the keynote speech Prof Brito Cruz will be announcing important bilateral research agreements with BG Group and two of the UK’s top universities.

FAPESP will be holding a pre event press conference at 2.00pm 25 ^th  September which will include announcements and a chance to question ten to the world’s leading British and Brazilian scientific academics.

Prof Brito Cruz will identify further cooperation opportunities for UK academic institutions, research agencies and commercial companies during a speech in which he will say: “Research collaboration between scientists in São Paulo and the UK has been growing strongly, thanks in part to the agreements that FAPESP has with UK Research Councils and leading UK universities.”

As well as senior science policymakers from Research Councils UK and the Royal Society, the conference will be addressed by British researchers from Cambridge, Bristol, Manchester, and Leicester Universities as well as Imperial College. On the Brazilian side will be scientists from scientists at São Paulo’s top-ranked universities.

Key topics at the conference will be: Climate Change; Biodiversity; Biofuels; Health Science, and Nanotechnology. For European scientists, the conference will emphasize the career-enhancing opportunities that contacts with Brazil can offer.

FAPESP has an annual research budget of around US$500 million and recently announced that it has assembled US$680 million worth of long-term funding to be spent over 11 years on projects in 19 designated areas.

The FAPESP Week conference is partly sponsored by the British Council and includes a full programme of scientific events designed to raise awareness of  how rapidly Brazil is developing into a knowledge-based society.