A presentation by Coral Zíper na Boca and the screening of a documentary about the pandemic produced by the project #memoriascovid19 marked, this Wednesday morning (5), the opening of the 8th Symposium of Unicamp Professionals (Simtec). In this edition, in particular, the event celebrates 25 years of existence. The opening ceremony coincides with the University's 56th anniversary, also celebrated on October 5th.
Watch the documentary from the #memóriascovid19 project
Until the 9th (Sunday), the symposium program will feature round tables, lectures and cultural and gastronomic attractions, including the holding, on Sunday, of “Chefs at Unicamp”. On Friday (7), Simtec will welcome Father Júlio Lancelotti – parish priest and pedagogue recognized for his pastoral work with homeless people and for defending Human Rights, especially of children and adolescents.
Simtec is an academic format event in which different Unicamp professionals, especially laboratory technicians, can exhibit work that highlights the contribution of each one to the development of the University's institutional teaching, research and extension activities.
The themes covered in this edition are human development, health, sustainability, quality of life and culture. There will also be conversations and lectures with personalities, such as journalist Rodrigo Boccardi and writer and philosopher Fernando Moraes, from Humanideia. Furthermore, the former dean and current Secretary of Education of Campinas, professor José Tadeu Jorge, will look back on SimTec's 25 years.
A poster session will highlight the submitted works and there will also be artistic and cultural presentations throughout the days. On Sunday (9), at Praça do Ciclo Básico, the fourth edition of the “Chefs at Unicamp” event is scheduled – when experts will offer the public dishes representing different cultures, such as Brazilian – including indigenous –, Arabic, Mexican and Japanese. Chefs at Unicamp aims to celebrate diversity and has as its theme “The flavor and value of diversity”.
Opening ceremony
At the opening ceremony of the 8th Simtec, the rector of Unicamp, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, recalled the high qualifications of the staff and said that the University must take advantage of the knowledge of its staff to strengthen itself even further.
“We have a considerable number of people with doctorates and master’s degrees at Unicamp. A very significant amount,” he said. “And a lot of people with higher education, graduates, with specialization. Many still work in high school, but have higher education. We have a very important training tradition”, stated the rector. “This is a wealth that the University should take advantage of, because we realize that it could bring even more benefits,” he added.
Meirelles recalled that Unicamp's academic community has close to 50 thousand people, who represent great potential for development. “We are, as an institution, a living laboratory. And nothing better than testing innovations and knowledge here. And this is a challenge that every server can face”, she assesses.
Protagonism of servers
President of the event's Organizing Committee, civil servant Edson Lins recalled that Simtec guarantees the protagonism of civil servants in the process of building the University. “And we need to maintain this leading role”, warned he, who is also coordinator of the School of Corporate Education (Educorp). According to Lins, SimTec received budget allocation, a procedure that guarantees its next edition.
President of the Institutional Responsibility and Volunteering Committee, Adilton Leite addressed the employees. “You should feel proud of this University, because it reflects the quality of the work you have done,” he said. This year's Simtec had the participation of employees from federal universities, such as Gustavo Cravo, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). “This event here at Unicamp should become an example for the entire country,” he stated.
“It is very common for federal governments to talk to each other, as should happen with state governments in São Paulo, but I think this interaction between UFRJ and Unicamp goes beyond the obvious and, for that very reason, it is very interesting,” said Cravo. He assesses that the symposium model adopted at Unicamp favors the protagonism of technicians.
History
The first edition of Simtec was held in 1997 on the initiative of a group of University employees. After this first edition, which saw the participation of 115 registrants, the event was only held again 11 years later, in 2008, under the leadership of the Social Benefits Management Group (GGBS). Around 1.500 professionals signed up for this second edition.
From then on, Simtec became biannual. The following four editions were held in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. There was a longer gap, of three years, from the sixth to the seventh and final edition of SimTec, held in 2019. Both the seventh and eighth editions of Simtec were organized by Educorp.
Simtec was a pioneering event, which served as inspiration for similar initiatives in other Brazilian public universities, such as the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and UFRJ.
Another event inspired by Simtec was the Congress of Professionals at São Paulo State Universities (Conpuesp), held in 2011 in partnership with USP and Unesp. According to the organization, there are discussions to hold a second Conpuesp in 2023.
Check out more images from the opening ceremony:
