More than 5 dozen researchers from the recent approved Associate Laboratory (LA) i4HB – Institute for Health and Bioeconomics, participated in the “Meeting with Researchers: dialogues on science policy”, held last Wednesday, June 2, at Taguspark campus. The event was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, professor Manuel Heitor, who promotes these meetings with the scientific community, aiming to debate public science policies in Portugal and in Europe.
This meeting brought together for the first time the researchers of this consortium, which includes the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB), the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering – Microsystems and Nanotechnology (INESC-MN) and the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit (UCIBIO), and aims to develop scientific and technological competences in Health and Bioeconomics.
The president of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), professor Helena Pereira, the president of Técnico, professor Rogério Colaço, and the coordinator of i4HB, professor Joaquim Sampaio Cabral, attended the debate.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education highlighted “we are now planning the next 7 years, so I think an open debate is very important”.
Recognising the challenges faced by researchers in recent years, the Minister brought to the debate some numbers that showed an increase in research funding, which “is still not enough”, the Minister said. “There is a dilemma in science policy: we have more scientists than money to support their research”. According to the Minister, it is crucial to increase funding from EU funds. Although Portugal has achieved good results in this area, attracting 1.7% of funding, the goal is to reach 2%.
The debate focused on 3 topics: the incorporation of researchers into the research career; the Individual Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEECs) and supplementary funding.
“Each research unit must be responsible for ensuring contracts with researchers, and must provide the necessary conditions for scientific career progression” said professor Rogério Colaço. “Professor Manuel Heitor is the first Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education who is actually tackling this problem and fragility in our scientific system. Obviously, it’s not fully resolved, but the change that has taken place in the last 3 or 4 years is very important”, he added.
During the debate, professor Manuel Heitor stressed the importance of Science as collective knowledge. “The collective incentives and the collective evaluation of research units has a lot to do with the need to create a collective research”. “The creation of a scientific institution involves capturing different funding sources and managing this investment among its researchers. I know that this is a sensitive issue for institutions”, he added.
“FCT is a funding entity, and funding must be, in fact, distinct from the research performance and the responsibility of research units”, said professor Helena Pereira. When asked about the delays in some procedures and dissemination of results, the president of the FCT highlighted “FCT staff is fully engaged at work. However, the evaluation process is quite complex and each process takes us between 6 to 8 months and we can’t change it. I must say that this is quite good when compared to other international organisations”.
“I think you should be proud of being part of such a large associate laboratory as i4HB. One of the things I like about this laboratory, among many others, is that it can negotiate with 4 different institutions. In my opinion, this allows to compare how different host institutions relate to the laboratory, and this should be used to negotiate”, said professor Manuel Heitor. “I hope there will be better and more robust opportunities for everyone to develop their careers”.
