📋 Tender Overview
During the public meeting of the National Education Council (CNE), held on the morning of Wednesday (6/8), in Brasilia, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Luciana Santos, presented a comprehensive overview of MCTI policies and initiatives, with emphasis on contributions to education at all levels. The meeting focused on strengthening the presence of science, technology and innovation in basic, technical, technological and higher education.
The minister highlighted the advances made since 2023, especially with regard to the strengthening of the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) and the articulation with the Ministry of Education (MEC) to expand access to science in public schools in the country.
In the knowledge society and in this world 4.0, education, science, technology and innovation are synonymous with development and autonomy, said Luciana Santos. The current Brazilian government understands that education and science are not spending, they are investment. And this understanding is reflected in the full recomposition of the FNDCT, a political decision of President Lula that allowed historical jumps in the contributions to national science.
According to the minister, FNDCT left R 2.8 billion in 2019 for a forecast of R 14.7 billion in 2025. These resources have been fundamental to revitalize research infrastructure, boost innovation and promote the training of professionals in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and cyber security.
Among the highlights presented, Luciana emphasized the Mais Ciencia na school program, developed in partnership with MEC. With an investment of R 200 million, the initiative will reach 2,000 schools later this year, offering Handmade laboratories, scholarships for 20,000 students and training of 2,000 teachers through universities and federal institutes.
Oceanic culture
The program strengthens students interest in science, promotes digital literacy and contributes to the reduction of inequalities, reaching peripheral, quilombola and indigenous communities, explained the minister. She also stressed the importance of the National Science and Technology Week, which this year takes place from October 20 to 26 with the theme Planet Water: Oceanic Culture to face climate change in my territory.
In addition to basic education, Luciana presented actions aimed at higher education, such as Pro-Infra, which is part of the new PAC and has invested 4.3 billion in the expansion and modernization of the national scientific infrastructure-more than 1.3 billion for federal higher education institutions (IFES). She also highlighted the Brazil Knowledge Program, which seeks to repact and fix Brazilian researchers that work abroad and strengthen international cooperation networks. More than 2,500 researchers showed interest in the first notice.
All FNDCT programs, which are now 12, serve or are related to federal universities and institutes, said Luciana. Science and education are our passports for the future. It is betting on the knowledge that we are building a fairer and developed country, said the minister.
Integrated policy
The president of the CNE, Cesar Callegari, highlighted the importance of dialogue between science, technology and innovation policies and the guidelines of national education. A commission was created so that we can guide a more organized presence of the science and innovation theme in all stages and educational modalities in the country, therefore, involving basic education in all its modalities and also higher education, he said.
Counselor Paulo Fossatti defended the presence of science in education from childhood to postdoctoral. He presented the four axes of the guidelines in elaboration by the CNE: access to scientific culture, innovative curricula, training of educators and innovation ecosystems. We need to create this cultural broth in our country that goes through science, technology and innovation, he said.
Israel Batista warned of the dismantling of scientific credibility in the country. There is a deliberate political decision on science disbelief, he said. He defended national protagonism in the use and regulation of new technologies. We need Brazil to stop being a mere consumer of these technologies. We need to put a little of our digital in this, he emphasized.
According to Batista, the CNE already works in guidelines for the pedagogical use of artificial intelligence, which should enter the curricula of the undergraduate. School is diversity of types of knowledge, approach, pedagogical strategies, he said. The teacher who adapts is important to the school. What does not adapt, either, concluded the counselor.
