(15.01.19) In December, representatives of various research institutions in northern Brazil met in Belém in the state of Pará to discuss internationalisation in the region. The meeting was initiated by the Germany-Brazil Network for the Internationalisation of Higher Education (Rebralint) and was held at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). The organisations invited to give presentations included the DFG Office Latin America and DAAD Brazil.
(24.01.19) In October last year, the candidate for the right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL), Jair Bolsonaro, was elected as the new President of Brazil. His entry to office has already been accompanied by some staffing changes at senior administrative levels of research policy with significant implications for research cooperation over the next four years.
(04.02.19) During its early development, the Brazilian legal system was subject to a strong German influence – a relatively little-known fact dating back to Roman Law, originally aligned with German legal norms. This jurisprudence also applied in other areas, including modern-day Portugal. Colonisation then brought these concepts and institutions to Brazil, where they continued to evolve over time. Brazilian civil law still contains references to the German Civil Code (BGB) drawn up in the 19th century, clearly illustrating the connection with German jurisprudence.
(19.03.19) To mark International Women's Day on 8 March, we are presenting measures taken by Germany's largest research funding organisation to further gender equality in research
(10.04.19) This year, Germany was the host country of Cátedra Europa, an annual congress organised by North University in Barranquilla, Colombia, which was attended by around 600 students and researchers; the DFG Office Latin America was also in attendance.
(23.04.19) Universities all over the world are facing new challenges as a result of recent global changes, which include demographic factors, migration, technological advancements, political change and new fundraising systems.
(06.05.19) 22 April marked International Earth Day – a good occasion to introduce the EarthShape project, one of the most innovative projects funded by the DFG in South America
(25.04.19) The Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) held an event on 10 April in Curitiba to promote internationalisation with a view to demonstrating the opportunities for cooperation with foreign universities to researchers and the management of the university.
(22.05.19) During his visit to Brazil at the end of April, DFG President Prof. Dr. Peter Strohschneider met with the new presidents of Brazil’s federal-level funding organisations, CAPES and CNPq, and expressed his support for a continuation of cooperation.
(22.05.19) Serra da Capivara National Park in the state of Piauí in northeastern Brazil is famous for its archaeological sites and impressive rock art, which have earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 6 May, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) in partnership with the German embassy and Sesc opened an exhibition on Serra da Capivara in Distrito Federal.
(24.05.19) On 13 and 14 May, representatives of Colombian and German institutions gathered in Bogotá for a third meeting as part of the scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries. The participants discussed topics relating to education, science and technology as well as new strategies to strengthen cooperation in these areas.
(24.05.19) On 9 May, a workshop was held in Bogotá to enable Colombian researchers to learn about opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral research in Germany. The workshop, which was the first such event to be held in Colombia and was organised by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), took place at Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes) and was supported by the DFG.
(21.05.19) DFG President Prof. Dr. Peter Strohschneider was in São Paulo from 1 to 3 March to attend the annual meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC). Representatives of 49 research funding organisations from 45 countries attended the event that took place for the first time in South America and was jointly organised by the funding institutions DFG, FAPESP (São Paulo, Brazil) and CONICET (Argentina).
(03.06.19) On 16 May, researchers from the city of São Carlos in the state of São Paulo had the opportunity to learn more about research and funding opportunities in Germany. The event was organised by the Information Centre of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in São Paulo and held on the engineering campus of the University of São Paulo (USP).
(17.06.19) On World Environment Day, we will present an extraordinary phenomenon which is currently being researched jointly by German and Mexican researchers in the flooded cave systems of the Yucatán Peninsula.
(18.06.19) A new funding opportunity for bilateral projects is now available to researchers from Germany and Colombia. Under the cooperation agreement signed in January between the DFG and the Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), research projects, mobility, seminars and workshops as well as other joint research activities are eligible for funding.
(18.06.19) ) On 4 and 6 June, some 200 early-career researchers from Brazil had the chance to learn more about postdoctoral opportunities in Germany at workshops in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais).
(24.06.19) At the international conference on "Brain, Behavior and Emotions" researchers had the chance to find out about opportunities for research and cooperation in Germany. The interdisciplinary conference, with more than 4,000 participants from the fields of medicine, neuroscience, pharmacology and psychology, took place from 5 to 8 June in Brasilia.
(08.07.19) Over the past few years, Mexico has evolved to become an important partner in scientific cooperation with Germany. This convergence was supported by the DFG and its Office Latin America and is reflected in a number of new partnerships with Mexican institutions. Representatives of the DFG visited partner organisation CONACYT and different research institutions in May.
(22.07.19) Around 700 researchers came together for 27th the International Conference on Statistical Physics (StatPhys) in Buenos Aires in early July. The conference programme comprised a number of presentations and poster sessions on different topics such as the issues in biological physics, the movement of bacteria, disordered systems, non-linear dynamics, turbulence and chaos, as well as on aspects of non-equilibrium and quantum mechanics in condensed matter physics.
(20.08.19) The DFG Office Latin America was represented at the 71st annual meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência – SBPC) in Campo Grande, attended by more than 30,000 people. The German House for Research and Innovation São Paulo organised a panel discussion on the interaction between science and politics, in which Dr. Kathrin Winkler, the Head of the DFG Office Latin America, also participated.
(04.09.19) Dr. Kathrin Winkler and Laura Redondo from the DFG Office Latin America travelled to Montevideo at the beginning of August to gain deeper insights into the local research landscape, and gauge the potential for future cooperation.
(11.09.19) Researchers from the FGV, universities and think tanks as well as representatives of funding institutions and the Brazilian government, came together in Rio de Janeiro for the 5th Colloquium for Applied Research of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). Dr. Kathrin Winkler, Director of the DFG’s Latin America office, was one of the around 320 attendees at the event held on 20 and 21 August, and gave a talk during the session on assessing and measuring the economic and societal impact of scientific research.
(17.09.19) The third general meeting of the National Council of State Funding Organisations (CONFAP) was held in São Paulo on 22 and 23 August. As part of the programme, the presidents of the state funding agencies (FAPs), currently 26 in number, meet regularly to exchange ideas and experiences with each other as well as with representatives of ministries, international agencies and funding organisations at federal level.
(09.10.19) At the end of September, around 1,600 national and international researchers – the highest number of attendees to date – came together for the 28th annual meeting of the Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) in the southern Brazilian coastal resort of Balneário de Camboriú. For the second time, a very successful Research in Germany booth was set up at the event with the active involvement of the DFG Office Latin America.
(06.11.19) German explorer and natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt was drawn to Latin America 200 years ago; today, it is young Argentinians who are drawn to Germany as a place to carry out their research work.
(08.11.19) Our environment and the protection of our forests are issues close to the hearts of the scientific community and the general public alike. Because of their unique properties, we all depend on plants, using them as food, pharmaceutical ingredients and in cosmetics. But we are often unaware of the extent to which we use raw plant materials and what impacts this has on the environment. This and other topics were on the agenda at the 70th Brazilian Botanical Congress in Maceió, which was also attended by the Research in Germany initiative.
(28.11.19) The German-Brazilian Dialogue on Science, Research and Innovation, organised by the German House for Research and Innovation in São Paulo (DWIH São Paulo) and the funding organisation for the state of São Paulo (FAPESP), took place in São Paulo for the eighth time on 30 and 31 October 2019. This year's edition was based on the theme "Radicalization and Violence: Perspectives and Prevention Approaches".
(20.12.19) Researching new food production methods is becoming increasingly important for researchers in Germany and abroad. In the years to come, there will inevitably be an increased demand for food due to the anticipated population growth, which means that we will have to rethink not only the way we produce food but our forms of food consumption as well. The Field & Food Tech Hub-UFSCar opened on 20 November at the Research Centre for Modern Materials and Energy (CPqMAE) of the Federal University of São Carlos.
(20.12.19) At the final event of Science Year 2019 in Latin America, the DFG outlined funding opportunities in Germany for students and researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The university opened its doors to welcome German research institutions on 12 December. The purpose of the event in the CENABIO of UFRJ was to outline the various opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to conduct research visits and for scientific cooperation with researchers from German institutions. Options for both short visits and long-term research projects were presented.