On 12 December, the Knowledge Pavilion hosted a conference titled “UK-Portugal Scientific Dialogue: addressing global challenges through collaboration”, a joint initiative of the British Embassy in Portugal, the Science and Technology Foundation, PARSUK (Portuguese Scientists and Association). students in the United Kingdom) and Ciência Viva.
At this event, we not only celebrated the strong scientific relationship between Portugal and the United Kingdom, but also explored the data revealed by the report “PUMP 2023 – Mapping Scientific Relationships between Portugal and UK”, a collaboration between PARSUK. British Embassy in Portugal and Foundation for Science and Technology. The bilateral collaborations between the two countries were highlighted as truly remarkable both in terms of quantity and quality. Between 2014-2020, there were nearly 1500 international projects with the participation of companies from both countries. Of the approximately 15,000 articles published, 80% are classified in the top quartile of the most prestigious journals in their respective scientific areas. Additionally, 40 patents were identified as a result of these collaborations.
In addition to renewing existing partnerships, such as the agreement between the FCT and PARSUK to promote science diplomacy between Portugal and the United Kingdom, new partnerships were announced. A highlight is the collaboration between British firm OpenCosmos and Portuguese startup Connect to jointly develop space observation missions. The British Embassy in Portugal and the Portuguese League Against Cancer also announced a new research award Worth eight thousand euros, it will fund a research trip by a group of Portuguese cancer researchers to the United Kingdom next year.
Rounding off the year we celebrated the 650th anniversary of the 'Old Alliance' between Portugal and the UK, the event offered a promising glimpse into the future of the scientific relationship between the two countries. Following the prolonged post-Brexit uncertainty, the UK's recent agreement to re-align itself with the European research projects Horizon Europe and Copernicus is good news. This agreement provides our scientists with the security and stability they need to resume their bilateral cooperation, and to increase opportunities to address the complex societal challenges we face, from climate change to aging, ocean and space exploration, and emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence and quantum, provide us.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Professor Elvira Fortunado, gave us the honor of completing this event: exploring ways to further develop bilateral cooperation, by creating financial mechanisms dedicated to this purpose. The future of science between Portugal and the United Kingdom promises to be as fascinating as the discoveries resulting from this collaboration.
*Chris Saint, British Ambassador to Portugal
*Diogo Martins, President of Parsuk
*Madalena Alves, president of the Science and Technology Foundation
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