FAPESP Day Uruguay symposium begins tomorrow in Montevideo

(Press-News.org) FAPESP and Uruguay’s National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) are hosting the FAPESP Day Uruguay symposium tomorrow (11/13) and Friday (11/14) in Montevideo. The event aims to foster partnerships between researchers from São Paulo and Uruguay in strategic areas of mutual interest.

The event will have a similar structure to the FAPESP Week series, which has had 24 previous editions. However, it will have a shorter program focused on three themes: Oceanography, Strategies and Policies for Sustainable Animal Protein Production, and Forestry for Production and Conservation: Innovations and Opportunities.

“FAPESP wants to increase dialogue with partners in South America. And, in the case of these three areas, to expand the presence of Uruguay, an important and academically qualified partner,” says Raul Machado, manager of the Foundation’s Institutional Relations Advisory and coordinator of the initiative.

Machado will be joined by Álvaro Brunini, president of ANII; Marco Antonio Zago, president of FAPESP; Marcio de Castro, scientific director of the Foundation; and Ana Vásquez, head of ANII’s Cooperation Unit, at the opening ceremony.

The first scientific session tomorrow afternoon will focus on oceanography and feature researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and the University of the Republic (UDELAR) in Uruguay. This will be followed by a session on forestry with scientists from USP, UDELAR, and Uruguay’s National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA).

On Friday morning, there will be a panel discussion on sustainable animal protein production featuring participants from USP, UDELAR, and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). Representatives from FAPESP and ANII will then present research funding opportunities for scientists in Uruguay and São Paulo state who are interested in developing collaborative projects.

“The two agencies will launch a joint call for proposals to support visiting researchers at the event,” says Ana Paula Yokosawa, FAPESP’s deputy manager of research collaboration, who will participate in the panel. She said the goal is to promote interaction between São Paulo and Uruguayan researchers so they can submit collaborative proposals to the Belmont Forum’s call for proposals, which FAPESP and ANII will also join.

Additionally, a call for proposals will be launched within the scope of the PILAR consortium – Proyectos de Investigación Latinoamericana en Red (Latin American Research Network Projects) – which, in addition to FAPESP and ANII, brings together the National Scientific and Technological Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina and the National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) of Paraguay.

The program also includes technical visits to the headquarters of Minerva, a meat processing company, and to the Institut Pasteur in Montevideo. During the latter visit, a Cooperation Agreement will be signed to facilitate interaction between scientists from the Uruguayan institution and their counterparts at the Institut Pasteur in São Paulo.

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