“Ciência 2017- Encontro Nacional com a Ciência e a Tecnologia”, which is the most important annual scientific event in Portugal, started this Monday, July 3. Over 4000 participants are expected to attend the event during the three days, enjoying a wide programme of activities that includes plenary sessions, parallel sessions, posters exhibitions by PhD students and some information sessions on the scientific and technological activities carried out in Portugal.
This year’s edition aims to stimulate the international cooperation on science and technology. India was the guest country due to the common project that is being developed by the two countries: AIR Center – Azores International Research Center on oceans, climate, atmosphere, data management and energy.
The inaugural session was attended by professor Manuel Heitor, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Paulo Ferrão, president of Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia, and professor Cristiana Bastos, from the Institute of Social Sciences of Universidade de Lisboa. Professor Alexandre Quintanilha, President of the Parliamentary Commission on Education and Science, Anil Bhardwaj, Scientific Secretary of ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation, and the yoga master Jorge Veiga, also attended this session.
According to professor Manuel Heitor, the four goals of this event should be: to align strategies; to stimulate science in order to generate an increasingly useful knowledge to the social well being; to discuss ways of strengthening the scientific community and finally to define strategies to increasingly diversify the scientific community. “Science must be regarded as a public good, for the common good”, highlighted the memeber of the government.
During his speech, the Minister reminded professor Mariano Gago who often considered science “a battlefield, which is not intended to be, nor should it be consensual, but rather to raise new questions”, recalled the Minister.
Professor Manuel Heitor presented the Scientific Merit Medal to 17 personalities for their scientific contributions. The geographers Suzanne Daveau and Raquel Soeiro de Brito, the historian Fernando Rosas, the physicist Gaspar Barreira and the oceanographer Mário Ruivo were some of the awarded. Professor Diamantino Durão, who was a former president of IST, professor António Falcão, professor Carlos Mota Soares and professor Carlos Varandas were the awarded personalities who represented Técnico.
The event, which runs until Wednesday, is organised by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), in collaboration with the Parliamentary Commission on Education and Science, Ciência Viva – National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture, and has free admission.
