OPEN LETTER FROM THE RESEARCH DEPRESSIONS OF CRUESP
The São Paulo State Universities – USP, Unicamp and Unesp – represented here by
CRUESP, have long recognized the need to adequately plan the future of the University, establishing guidelines that allow defining, among the multiple alternative actions presented to its administrators, those considered priority for achieving the institution's major objectives, among which The generation of knowledge and the solid training of human resources in all areas of knowledge stand out.
With this vision, the three Universities joined with enormous commitment the Institutional Program for Scientific Initiation Scholarships (PIBIC) established by CNPq in 1992, which today constitutes one of the most prestigious success stories for strengthening the Brazilian ecosystem of science, technology and innovation , thus constituting the source of highly qualified human resources for national postgraduate studies and the productive sectors. PIBIC and the programs derived from it more recently, such as PIBITI and PIBIC-EM, constitute one of the pillars of support and continuity of its research activities in all areas of knowledge.
Given this scenario, these Universities are concerned about the requirement, in the recent PIBIC call, that Scientific Initiation scholarships valid from August 2020 to July 2021 must be linked to at least one of the Ministry's so-called "Priority Technology Areas". listed in Ordinance no. 1.122 of MCTIC of 19/03/2020. Expressions of concern regarding the aforementioned ordinance have been made public, and were also expressed by different segments of the academic and scientific community.
Such a requirement in the recent PIBIC call, published on the CNPq website on 23/04/2020, is equivalent to transforming what MCTIC calls "priority" into "exclusivity", as it closes its IC scholarship program to all projects that do not fit into the list of the ministerial order. By making such a requirement, the CNPq excludes from the scholarship program a significant and important portion of national research, namely, all research, whether basic or applied, that does not focus on the areas listed in the ordinance, which also includes the absolute majority research in the arts and humanities. By doing so, it meets one of PIBIC's main objectives, mentioned in the call itself: "contribute to the training of human resources for research, who will dedicate themselves to any professional activity".
On the other hand, it should be noted that such a policy does not only have consequences for scientific initiation projects. In fact, scientific initiation is the first step in building a solid professional career in all segments, not just academia. There is no other reason for one of PIBIC's objectives listed in the call, namely, "to contribute to reducing the average length of stay of students in postgraduate studies". Thus, by "a priori" rejecting IC research from students in non-priority areas, the CNPq will contribute to a drastic reduction in postgraduate projects in these areas and, in the long term, in research itself. Society is multiple and its challenges are very complex, and we do not recommend denying the importance of social and artistic areas. In the modern world, all areas are intertwined and technological advances always impact society.
In view of these facts, the Pro-Rectors of Research of the three São Paulo State Universities that make up CRUESP come to reiterate the importance of continued support for basic science, as has been provided by CNPq since its creation, with great success and excellent results, in parallel with the actions to accelerate research in areas considered priorities. On the other hand, we request that these priorities be re-discussed together with the Brazilian scientific community, so that medium and long-term policies are established that cover all areas of human activity.
In closing, as we always do, we are at your disposal for the necessary dialogue with a view to the challenges and appropriate and effective public policies for the development of ST&I in Brazil.
São Paulo, April 29, 2020.
Prof. Dr. Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Graeff
Pro-Rector of Research at UNESP
President of the CRUESP Research Committee
Prof. Dr. Sylvio Roberto Accioly Canuto
Pro-Rector of Research at USP
Prof. doctor Munir Salomão Skaf
Pro-Rector of Research at UNICAMP
