The Unicamp Scientific Initiation Congress completes 25 editions this year, an already traditional event at the institution organized by the Dean of Research (PRP). It takes place between the 18th and 20th of this month, when 1.690 registrants are expected, distributed in 1.459 works, in the areas of Biomedical (423), Technological (415), Humanities (324), Exact Sciences (255) and Arts (42). In addition to the scholarships offered by CNPq, 279 SAE scholarships were awarded for scientific initiation this year. “We believe that this event is a great boost for students so that they can enjoy research in all areas of knowledge. It also gives them the opportunity to improve their knowledge and prepare for future professional life”, highlights Professor Munir Skaf, head of the PRP portfolio.
The opening ceremony of the event will be on the 18th, Wednesday, at 14 pm, at the University Convention Center, with the presence of institutional authorities. There will be lectures on site over the three days. At the Multidisciplinary Gymnasium (GMU), posters with the results of the students' work will be displayed. Get to know the programming. See the past events.
The expectation, according to the dean, is that the event will be stimulating, promote integration between students from different areas and that research will emerge to boost new investigations. "This event also celebrates the meeting between students from the three Unicamp campuses, who actively worked towards this meeting", he highlights.
The professor comments that scientific initiation is a genuinely Brazilian invention and that, abroad, the closest thing to this initiative are summer internships, Summer Research. There, students generally spend two months in this internship, especially with an emphasis on laboratory activities. In Brazil, scientific initiation began strongly in the 1980s, with students having closer contact with laboratories. At Unicamp, and in some other institutions in the country, initiation lasts one year.
According to Munir Skaf, scientific initiation also acts to complement the student's training, even producing leverage with research that will come later in postgraduate studies; as well as helping to define areas of study and search for a career. "This contact with the research environment has led many young people today to undertake more than one scientific initiation, improving their academic and professional training."
At the end of the event, the 20 best works of the edition will be awarded. Authors will receive certificates of merit and monetary importance. Those not awarded will receive certificates of participation. “The award shows the integration of teaching aspects in interaction with research”, says the dean. “In fact, it is the materialization of the inseparability between teaching and research”, he points out.
After receiving registrations at the Congress, an Internal Committee classifies the works that stood out for their scientific quality. In each area, 10% of the submitted works are selected. Those selected are submitted as an indication of the best works for consideration by the Advisory Committee representing the CNPq, invited by the Unicamp PRP.
Mirian Marcançola, an employee at PRP, says that all summaries of the work exhibited at the event will receive a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) record on computer networks such as the Internet. The system offers unique identification of the intellectual property of books, articles, periodicals and even images found on the network, associating each object with its basic data and origin. This is an important stage for the internationalization of the event and helps to project the work outside the country.
