Restoring the value of science and strengthening education as a means of development for the country are among the goals of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) for the coming years. These objectives were described by the president of the institution, Mercedes Bustamante, in an interview with the Brasil em Pauta program, which airs this Sunday (12), on TV Brasil. “It is science that will be able to lead us, guide us in this development that Brazil needs, with more social justice, with more equity and also with more sustainability. So, I think there are two tools [ciência e educação] fundamental that need to be worked on and valued if Brazil wants to have a perspective of the future until the end of this century”, said the researcher. The readjustment of postgraduate scholarships, scientific initiation and basic education teacher training announced by the federal government in February, was another topic addressed by the president of Capes. According to her, it is necessary that readjustments occur more consistently and have predictability and stability in the way they are made. The last readjustment in the values of master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships had occurred in April 2013. “The idea is that we don’t wait more than ten years for the next readjustment. We hope that from now on we will be able to count on the implementation of more periodic readjustments and that they will be able to follow the cost of living in Brazil a little more. I think this will be an important stimulus to attract the researchers that Brazil lost in the last four years and to retain the researchers that we are training here”, she said. Mercedes Bustamante highlighted that the grants play an important role in inducing and maintaining young researchers in a scientific career. Women in science Amid discussions about the representation of women in society and in the various productive sectors, due to the celebration of Women’s Day, on March 8, Mercedes Bustamante spoke about the participation of women in science. She highlighted that, when considering the number of scholarship holders from Capes, women are already the majority in masters and doctorates. The president of Capes noted that, however, there is still much to be done to ensure that these young researchers remain in their scientific and academic careers. According to her, it is necessary to build a more adapted environment to welcome the female presence in the field of science. To this end, strategies are under discussion, such as incorporating information on maternity leave for young teachers and students in evaluation reports. Another strategy would be to modify the law that restricts the extension of the scholarship for maternity or parenthood, extending the current period of four months to six months. “We realized that there is still a much greater burden for women, even though there are mechanisms to make this division of efforts a little more, it is still heavily concentrated on women. This points out that, often, after childbirth or adoption, there is a drop in the scientific productivity of women.” Climate change The president of Capes stated that Brazil is always seen as a socio-environmental power and it is time to see the realization of this potential, with the help of science. For this, according to the researcher, it is necessary to change parameters of the Brazilian economy, since, for centuries, Brazil has been an exporter of commodities, which has little added value and results in predatory exploitation that impacts the environment. . “Part of that science engagement process is how we add national value and reduce environmental impacts at the same time,” she said. Mercedes Bustamante assesses that, as it has biomes rich in biodiversity and also in carbon, Brazil can contribute to the solution to two of the major environmental agendas, which is the loss of biodiversity and the issue of climate change. “The world expected from Brazil exactly this leadership of serving as an example for this tropical part of the globe that will be so important in this discussion of global environmental changes.” Check out the full interview on the Brasil em Pauta program, which airs this Sunday (12) at 10:30 pm. Click here and find out how to tune in to TV Brasil.
Agência Brasil
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