PALOP students will be able to do science in Portugal
Two scholarships were awarded to scholars from Cape Verde and Mozambique and a scientific prize was awarded to a Mozambican researcher under the 3rd edition of the António Coutinho Science Awards promoted by the Gulbenkian Science Institute (IGC). Those selected to develop their projects in Portuguese universities.
Érica Simão, Mozambican, was selected with a grant for the presentation of the project “Efficacy of the use of Tenofovir + Lamivudine + Dolutegravir in the viral suppression of patients on ART [tratamento farmacológico para o vírus HIV/sida] 12 months ago “with Dr. Ana Abecassis of the IHMT. A survey of your project consists in the usefulness of” generating data that inform the decision from a medical point of view at the Hospital Militar de Maputo “, informed the IGC in a statement. She has a degree in General Medicine from the Catholic University of Mozambique and is studying for a Masters in Public Health and Development at IHMT.
The other grant was awarded to Tamar Monteiro, Cape Verdean who proposed the project “Assessment of the microbiological safety of wastewater used in agricultural irrigation” at the Institute of Experimental and Technological Biology, Project AgriWWAter, Laboratory of Food Safety and Microbiology, Food & Health Division . His project was distinguished for “having an ecological and public health impact, being able to generate data that inform the decision in terms of waste management”. The young woman has a degree in Biological Sciences and attends the Masters in Public Health at the University of Cape Verde.
The winner of the scientific award was Sosdito Mananze, a Mozambican who presented the project “Decision support system based on Remote Sensing for the efficient use of resources in agriculture in Mozambique” at the Center for Industrial Robotics and Intelligent Systems of the Institute of Systems Engineering and Computers, Technology and Science (INESCTEC) from the University of Porto. The researcher holds a PhD in Geographic Engineering from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and is a professor at the School of Rural Development – Eduardo Mondlane University, deputy director for Research and Extension at the Eduardo Mondlane University, School of Rural Development. His project “continues to the work developed during the PhD and intends to be a proof of concept to later advise on the implementation of the remote sensing system in Mozambique”.
The research projects that won a grant developed to be developed at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Universidade Nova de Lisboa and at the Institute of Experimental and Technological Biology. Sostido Mananze’s research will be carried out at the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESCTEC) of the University of Porto.
Applications were analyzed by a jury composed of scientists from both the PALOP and Portugal, with PhDs in different scientific areas and with experience in the selection and monitoring of researchers and scientists.
The António Coutinho Science Awards program is promoted by the IGC Collaborative Center for the democratization of science, with the Municipality of Oeiras and Merck as partners. The focus is on cooperation, training and the development of scientific research, it has had a high impact on the participants’ careers and has been instrumental in driving them to pursue a career in the field of science.
According to Mónica Bettencourt Dias, Director of the IGC, “they are an opportunity to streamline and strengthen the path of investigation by scientists and encourage the emergence of new solutions to the problems of all humanity.”
First awarded in 2019, they have already awarded 5 researchers in previous editions. The 4th edition released during the first quarter of 2022.
The result was announced this Thursday. There were 27 applications submitted from Angolas, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Princípe and Portugal.