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Mercadante is confident that Brazil's economy boom will be incentive enough for its scholars to return
Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR
[RIO DE JANEIRO] Brazil will spend around US$2 billion over the next three years on sending 75,000 students and researchers abroad, under a programme announced last week (26 July) by the Brazilian science minister, Aloizio Mercadante.
Mercadante announced the 'Science without borders' initiative at the 38th meeting of the Economic and Social Development Council, which advises the president on economic and social issues.
But the announcement has surprised many in the scientific community, since the country has recently been working to improve its own graduate programmes and research capacity — only providing funding for shorter stays abroad, to avoid encouraging a brain drain of scientific talent out of the country.
The new programme will provide 27,100 undergraduate scholarships, 24,600 fellowship for PhD students spending a year abroad; 9,790 fellowships for four-year doctorates; and 8,900 post-doctorate fellowships.
There will also be 390 fellowships for visiting researchers in Brazil, mainly targeted at Brazilians living abroad.
"The best students will be sent to the best universities worldwide," Mercadante said in announcing the new programme, according to the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) website.
"In this way, we will overcome the biggest challenges in the country and allow a 'quantum jump' in training for strategic areas in a sustainable way, expanding the medium and high technology sectors."
However critics say that the new initiative conflicts with policies adopted by Brazil over the last decades, which have emphasized the strengthening of national graduate programmes and widening access to master and PhD courses in the country.
At the same time, the number of full doctorate fellowships available for study abroad had been cut back, in response to the fact that many of the recipients of such awards subsequently fail to return to Brazil."The announcement was unexpected," Celso Pinto de Mello, president of the Brazilian Society of Physics, told SciDev.Net.
He pointed out that the issue had not been not discussed with Brazil's professional scientific societies. Neither had it been raised at the National Conference for Science and Technology held last year, which was convened by then president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and attended by 4,000 people from the academic community, government, private and industry sectors.
Mercadante has justified the new initiatives as being required to meet the country's increasing demand for qualified scientists and engineers, and its focus on engineering and the life sciences, in which Brazil has a shortage of experts.
Responding in an interview on the national radio channel, EBC, to a suggestion that the new initiative could end up exacerbating the brain drain, he said that he did not think that this would happen, as recipients of awards would be drawn back to Brazil by the needs of the country's growing economy.
At the same time, Mercadante said, academic jobs were likely to become more difficult to find in the United States and Europe because of the economic difficulties faced by these countries.
But many are not convinced, arguing that his main motivation is to introduce an initiative that is different from those of his predecessors.
"We don't need a programme to promote the brain drain," said Mello, who also pointed out that the lack of foreign language teaching in the country's public schools was likely to be a problem.
Those with the required language facilities to study abroad were therefore more likely to be from middle and higher classes, who can afford private schools and language courses. "This can represent a significant social exclusion of those for whom the language represents a significant barrier," said Mello.
Mercadante's presentation on the new programme (in Portuguese)
Comments (6)
Mike Odyewa Baluti ( Agricultral Research | Malawi )
6 August 2011
That you are sending 75,000 students to do various courses is what I long for. Could I be the next beneficially?
Mike
Mike Odyewa Baluti ( Agricultral Research | Malawi )
6 August 2011
I am an assistant maize breeder. Maize is the chief food crop in Malawi for over 90% of the population. I have to present a paper in Maputo, Mozambique 9-13/10/2011. Can I get the funding from your organisation to let me present the paper in Mozambique?
Nagib Nassar,Universidade Brasilia,Brasil ( Brazil )
8 August 2011
The Minister Marcadante received his doctorate last year; 2010 from Brazilian University and Brazilian Post graduate Program at Campinas. If the policy of graduating Brazilian students abroad in foreigner Universities was adopted in the last eight years, leaving national programs weak, fragile and unprepared he, himself would not have been able to graduate. So are would have been twenty four thousands doctors completed their studies as doctors in the last few years. Well built up programmers, highly qualified courses would not have been able to work in highest capacity as they do now. No any serious studies were conducted to take such decision and realeasing such program. No any consultation of scientific societies was made. On the contrary it is against all what been planned by Brazilian foundation for qualifying graduates - CAPES. Brazil must review this decision and this Program. The Brazilian Congress must interfere and ask minister where are studies on which this program been based? Has CAPES been consulted? Only one year ago CAPES presented to Brazilian public how much its policy of supporting national post graduate programs led to a great jump in qualyfying Brazilian graduates. CAPES yet, explained that qualifying a Doctor in USA cost five times what spent in Brazil. Not only this, but student deals with foreign problems, solving foreign obstacles that does not exist in Brazil, problems interesting his supervisor abroad not Brazilian reality. AND how much student been there prefering not to return? because lived the American or European reality and have American or European dreams. CAPES managed to compatibilize aquiring foreign experience and support the national program by sandwich model, but all this was neglected and simply overlooked in this recent released program
Nathan Souza ( Brazil )
8 August 2011
This unprecedented increase of support to undergraduate and graduate studies abroad in high priority areas represents a marvellous impulse for Brazil's internationalization. It does not promote brain drain as the fellowships comes with a series of conditions to awardees including paying back the money to Brazil in case students do not return home upon completion of the program. Very well done Mercadante!
V B Lal ( India )
9 August 2011
The plan is ambitious. Does it form an integral component of the country's vision of development through science and technology? Will there be appropriate jobs to absorb the scientists coming back home after training, supposing that they all will be coming back. While the brain-drain remains a concern, a bigger concern should be 'the-brain-in-the-drain' phenomenon (when the home country is not able to give reasonable working position and proper infrastructure and environment to the well-trained scientist.)
Nawaz Sharif ( United States of America )
16 August 2011
It seems to me that the Minister for Science and Technology has an ambitious plan for “winning the future” and wants to focus on the most crucial bottleneck of technical manpower shortage. But, please remember that the planned program for PhD level education from the best universities of the world has to follow a deliberate strategy of specialization. Like all progressive countries, Brazil, for sustainable economic growth and prosperity, needs to specialize in a few very carefully selected new and emerging technological area centric innovations in goods and services by its enterprises that can earn money in the globally competitive marketplace. You may be interested to visit my blog on technological innovation: http://mns-technologicalinnovation.blogspot.com/
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30 May 2012