Members of the Council of Rectors of São Paulo State Universities (Cruesp) participated this week in a series of meetings with the federal government. Rectors Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, from Unicamp, Carlos Carlotti, from USP (University of São Paulo), and Pasqual Barreti, from Unesp (Universidade Estadual Paulista), met with ministers Nísia Trindade (Health) and Luciana Santos ( Science, Technology and Innovation) and with the Minister of Industry and Commerce and Vice President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin. At the meetings, Cruesp discussed the possibility of carrying out cooperation actions and partnerships with government bodies.
“Cruesp has made moves with the state government that signal our willingness to carry out joint activities, and it was this movement that we have now started with the federal government”, explained the rector of Unicamp, current president of the Council. In addition to the ministries, the rectors were also at the funding agencies Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development).
“Particularly in the area of health, one of the topics that we discussed most was precisely the idea that, around the assistance activity, innovation initiatives should also be developed, in products and services, that allow improving the quality of public service in the SUS [Sistema Único de Saúde], and reducing our dependence on imports”, said the president of Cruesp. “We want our universities – which develop science and technology – to generate innovations to improve the quality of these services and reduce their costs”, added Meirelles.
According to the dean of Unicamp, this process involves not only the strictly medical and assistance sector, but also the knowledge that universities accumulate in several other areas. The idea is to encourage, around public health institutions, the development of an economic-industrial complex – made up of companies that supply medicines and equipment, as well as service providers.
“We, from the three universities in São Paulo, have a great deal of human resources training in this area. We have detailed knowledge of society's demands and can combine this effort and provide a better service, generating innovation”, argues the rector.
The rectors also spoke with Minister Nísia Trindade about what the role of university hospitals could be in the regional service system and strategies ranging from the production of immunization agents to the expansion of vaccination campaigns.
A center for vaccine development could involve the three state universities of São Paulo, the federal universities of the State of São Paulo and other units of the federation, as well as the Butantan Institute, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Research Support Foundation from the State of São Paulo (Fapesp).
initiatives
The universities presented some initiatives in the area of innovation to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the BNDES. Unesp offered details about a biopharmaceutical factory, USP showed the project of an innovation district and Unicamp detailed the HIDS project (International HUB for Sustainable Development), the Startup Village and the Technology Park.
The rectors and ministers evaluated the possibility of the Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation and Industry, Commerce and Services and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) collaborating in the intensification of these initiatives with companies and the corporate world.
Real Estate Agencies
Cruesp members also met with the president of CNPq, Ricardo Galvão. The vice-rector of Unesp, Maysa Furlan, and the vice-rector of Postgraduate Studies at USP, Márcio de Castro Silva Filho, participated in this meeting.
The meeting's agenda included topics such as the expansion of the Master's and Doctorate Program for Innovation (MAI/DAI), the increase in quotas for Junior Post-Doc scholarships and a new postgraduate model, with a final-level master's degree and a doctorate. with eventual quick passage to the master's degree, in addition to legal issues and the improvement of public-private partnerships in research.
In the meeting with the president of Capes, Mercedes Maria da Cunha Bustamante, Cruesp suggested a new edition of Capes-Print and a new postgraduate model, with a final-level master's degree and a doctorate with a possible quick passage through the master's degree. He was also informed of Capes' initiative to strengthen the National Postdoctoral Program (PNPD), recovering the original idea of long-term scholarships (5 years).
The group also discussed the possibility of adopting measures so that institutions have greater influence in the distribution of teaching scholarships and incentives aimed at professional postgraduate programs.
