Science Meeting 2017 with over 4,000 registrations

The 2017 Science Meeting, held at the Lisbon Congress Center from July 3 to 5, attracted more than 4,000 registrants to participate ina vast program, consisting of around 400 presentations by researchers who presented the results of their scientific work, 700 posters by doctoral students, and dozens of on-site project demonstrations.

The opening session of the Meeting was attended by the Minister of Science and Technology, Manuel Heitor, the President of FCT, Paulo Ferrão, the President of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science, Alexandre Quintanilha, and the Commissioner for Science 2017, Luís Magalhães. The session also featured guest speakers Cristiana Bastos, from the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, who presented the paper "Atlantic Transits – Without Caravels or Compasses"; Jorge Veiga e Castro, Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja, with a paper entitled "Ancestral Yoga of Bhárata / India, Personal Development, and Citizenship"; andAnil Bhardwaj, Scientific Secretary of ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation, who gave a presentation on the space program of India, the guest country at the Meeting.

This first session ended with the presentation of the 2017 Science Merit Medals, which honored 17 individuals who have contributed to the development of science in Portugal.

This year, the Meeting marked the 20th anniversary of the FCT, created in 1997 by Professor José Mariano Gago, while Minister of Science and Technology, and the 50th anniversary of the creation of the JNICT (National Board for Scientific Research), the predecessor institution of the FCT.

The event could also be followed remotely via the Blog and YouTube channel , where you can still read, watch, and listen to the researchers and science policymakers in Portugal who participated in the meeting.

Highlights: 

Science and knowledge are our blueprint for the future – interview with Manuel Heitor, Minister for Science, Technology, and Higher Education

20 years of FCT and 50 years of JNICT: a history of scientific growth with an eye on the future – interview with Paulo Ferrão, President of the Foundation for Science and Technology 

India attends as guest country – interview with Luís Magalhães, Commissioner of the 2017 Science Meeting

Applying knowledge to protect forests – interview with a researcher from the Forestry Studies Center at the University of Lisbon Forest Protection Manager at The Navigator Company