FAPESP Week Beijing concludes amidst expectations of Brazilian-Chinese partnership
Over a three-day period in Beijing, researchers from different fields lectured and discussed findings of their research at institutions in São Paulo and China
By Samuel Antenor
Agência FAPESP – The Chinese capital city served as the backdrop for an unprecedented convergence of researchers based at a number of educational and research institutions in the state of São Paulo and China, during the Brazil-China Symposium for Scientific Collaboration – FAPESP Week Beijing, held April on 15-18.
Leading experts from the two countries in the fields of materials science, nanomaterials, environmental science, renewable energy, agriculture, biological science, medicine and life science convened over a period of three days at the Yingjie Exchange Center, on the campus of Peking University (PKU).
The scientists discussed the state of the art of research at different institutions http://www.topessayservice.org/, offering an up-to-date overview of the level of scientific excellence in the two countries.
The presentations included advanced research on plant physiology focused on the production of biofuels, models for predicting climate change, noninvasive pharmacological technologies and new therapies for metabolic and related cardiovascular complications, among other topics.
During the event, Chinese researchers came into contact with FAPESP-funded projects that have yielded significant contributions to research regarded as fundamental, and to applications in advanced technological systems.
Brazilian researchers were also able to establish contact with some of the principal scientists currently active in China, a country that is exhibiting rapid, consistent growth in scientific and technological development.
Strategic partnership
According to Celso Lafer, president of FAPESP, contact between researchers is the cornerstone of FAPESP Week and a crucial factor in the process by which the state of Sao Paulo engages in the internationalization of research.
The exchange of information, he said, is key to creating partnerships that are beneficial to the quality of research in both countries.
“The first FAPESP Week in Asia took place in Japan in 2013, but South-South cooperation – with researchers in China, in this case – should be our top priority, since the two countries are engaged in similar processes in terms of scientific and technological development,” he pointed out.
For Lafer, beyond serving as an important step towards securing the international standing of Brazilian research, the event had the strategic mission of strengthening the connection between researchers in the state of São Paulo and several Chinese educational and research institutions, to promote joint studies that benefit the people of both countries.
Although the symposium was held at PKU, Lafer emphasized the importance of the participation of researchers from other Chinese institutions, to strengthen ties with other universities as well. Nevertheless, the first cooperative agreement for research is expected to be signed with PKU.
“The conversations with Peking University were positive, and we have the expectation that they will lead to a cooperative agreement. But FAPESP is open to conversations with other universities of excellence in China,” he said.
Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director of FAPESP, gave a positive assessment of the three days of FAPESP Week Beijing.
“The event handily met FAPESP’s goal of raising the international profile of the research being conducted in the state of São Paulo. More specifically, FAPESP Week Beijing signifies the beginning of future partnerships, especially between the participating researchers and in the fields that were represented,” he observed.
Open doors
During the event’s closing ceremony at the Yingjie Exchange Center, Yansong Li, vice president of PKU, emphasized the importance of FAPESP Week Beijing for Chinese researchers.
“We are proud that the first symposium held by FAPESP in China took place at Peking University, which will encourage cooperation between the two countries. Now we are closer than before, and expectations are that this meeting will bear fruit in the near future,” he said.
Li observed that, even among students at the university, there is a growing desire to forge closer ties with Latin America, and in particular with Brazil. “This was the first step towards building a closer relationship, one that will continue to grow, because there is complementarity of research in several areas,” he commented.
With an annual research budget of about US$400 million, Peking University is regarded as the China’s principal education and research institution.
The university’s 2.7 million square meter campus accommodates 6,200 professors and staff and 38,800 students – 14,700 in master’s programs and 8,500 in doctoral programs – distributed across five colleges and 53 schools and departments.
In recent years, PSU has exhibited a significant increase in scientific production. Data revealed during the event indicate that researchers at the university published 6,247 papers as first author in 2013, and the figure as of this April stands at 2,417.
In conjunction with the FAPESP Week Beijing program, the exhibition Brazilian Nature – Mystery and Destiny continues to maintain a Brazilian presence at PKU during the month of April. The exhibition will remain on display until April 29 at the university’s central library.
The digitized panels of the exhibition may be viewed, along with captions in Portuguese, German, English, Spanish, Japanese, and now also in Mandarin Chinese, at www.fapesp.br/publicacoes/braziliannature.