Interview with Sarah O'Sullivan, director international collaborations at Research Brazil Ireland (RBI) - EURAXESS
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EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
Interview with Sarah O'Sullivan,
director of international
collaborations at Research Brazil
@Peter o Neill Ireland (RBI)
Irish woman Sarah Sarah, you are representing RBI in Brazil. Could you tell us a little bit more about RBI
O’Sullivan is based in Rio de
objectives and activities?
Janeiro, where she
coordinates Research Brazil- Research Brazil Ireland (RBI) is a consortium of eleven higher education and research
Ireland (RBI), an initiative of institutes from Ireland*. The idea behind the initiative was to support the formation of
the Irish government to
new scientific collaborations between Brazil and Ireland, while supporting exisiting
promote scientific
collaboration between the two
collaborations.
nations. Funded by Science
Fostering links between industry and academia is another objective of RBI; this is
Foundation Ireland, RBI was
something that Ireland is particularly strong at. Academic staff with long track records
launched two years ago, and
is already showing positive in industry, and courses with built-in internships add to Ireland’s progess in this area.
results, with dozens of Added to this are incentives, both financial and in the form of mentoring, provided by
collobarative partnerships Irish state agencies like Enterprise Ireland and Industrial Development Authority, to
supported since its inception. help forge links between academia and industry.
Priority thematic areas were identified from an analysis of priority research areas
*Eleven Irish consirtium
common to Brazil and Ireland.
members; Dublin City
University; Dublin Institute of RBI provides mobility funding and support for researchers to travel between Brazil
Technology; Dundalk Institute and Ireland, to develop research ideas, with the hope that researchers on either side of
of Technology; National
the Atlantic can access funding for research projects in Brazil and in Europe, under the
University of Ireland, Galway;
Maynooth University;
Horizon 2020 programme, which has a budget of nearly EUR 80 billion.
University College Cork; The RBI programme is administered by Dublin City University in Ireland, with a local
University College Dublin;
office that I manage in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
University of Limerick; Royal
College of Surgeons, Ireland; Why Brazil? Is there any similar structure in another country outside Europe?
Trinity College Dublin;
Waterford Institute of Research Brazil Ireland was born from a Science Foundation Ireland programme called
Technology. ISCA (International Strategic Cooperation Award), created to support new and existing
research-based collaborations between Ireland’s higher education insitutions, and
partner insitutions in Brazil, China, India and Japan. Each ISCA progamme is led by an
Irish university, with Dublin City University taking the lead on ISCA Brazil, and forming
RBI.
RBI organised the “1st Brazil-Ireland Science Week”, held in Dublin, 23-26 February
2015. What were the aims and outcomes of the conference?
The event “Collaborative Research for a Better Future” aimed at “bringing together
researchers, higher education institutions, funding agencies, policy decision makers
and industry leaders” to discuss how to strengthen existing links between Ireland and
Brazil and develop future collaborations.
Initially published in EURAXESS Links Brazil Newsletter February 2015 | Page 1 of 3
EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
More than 80 senior Mark Ferguson, director general of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) signed
Brazilian researchers from memorandums of agreement with FAPERJ, and Confap, adding to existing
areas spanning agreements between SFI and FAPESP, and with federal funders CAPES and CNPq.
nanotechnology & advanced
materials; information & During the opening ceremony, Brazilian Ambassador to Ireland, HE Afonso José Sena
communications technology; Cardoso, said the conference marked a “milestone” in relations between Brazil and
sustainable energy & agro- Ireland. Another recent milestone has been the formation of a Brazil-Ireland
production; bio-
parliamentary group in Brazil.
pharmaceutical, bio-
technology & health; and EURAXESS Ireland sponsored the poster competition for PhD students who work
environmental science within a Brazil-Ireland collaboration. Manager Jennifer Cleary outlined to delegates
attended the event with their
the free services available to researchers and their families, both in Ireland and in
Irish counterpart.
Brazil .
Representatives from all of
the top ranking Brazilian Brazil-Ireland Science Week was an fantastic opportunity to deepen existing
universities were present; relationships. A research pitch and network session held during the conference
USP, Unicamp, UFScar, allowed for the identification of new partnership possibilities, relevant in a constantly
UFRJ, UERJ, etc.
evolving global landscape.
Sergio Gargioni, president of
Confap (the national council One full day of the conference was dedicated to an exploration of the industry-
of state funding agencies in academia relationship; with guest speakers sharing experience on best practices, from
Brazil); Augusto Raupp, both Ireland and Brazil. Irish graduates are recognised as being some of the most
president of FAPERJ, the highly qualified in Europe, and Irish universities have been extremely successful in
Rio de Janeiro funding recent years entering into the innovation space. Speakers spoke of the Irish experience
agency; and Celso Lafer,
in making this happen.
president of FAPESP, the
São Paulo funding agency, all Industry representatives from IBM and Embraer shared experiences from either side of
travelled to Ireland.
the Atlantic on innovation, bringing research to market, and case studies of successful
Ireland’s Minister of State industry-academic relationships were shared.
for Research and
Innovation, Damien English, Could you give us a short overview of the existing Brazil-Ireland research
His Excellency Afonso cooperation?
Cardoso, the Brazilian
ambassador to Ireland, and In addition to several individual collaborations, 13 working groups have been formed
His Excellency Brian Gylnn, under the RBI programme, with at least two Brazilian partners institutes, working with
the recently appointed Irish at least two of their Irish counterparts.
ambassador to Brazil, were
also present. Among the active RBI collaborations, one working group is developing a project in Bio-
Analytical Sciences, which counts on the participation of researchers from Brazil-based
The European Union was
also represented with space INCTBio, UFABC, Unicamp, USP, UFMG, UFRGS, as well as Irish partners Dublin City
given to explore Horizon University (DCU), and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI). A working group in
2020, and its relevance to the area of Information & Communication Technology has Brazilian collaborators
Brazilian researchers, and to from Inatel, URFJ, USP, Unicamp, PUC Rio, UFRGS, UnB, with Waterford Institute of
Brazil-Ireland collaborations. Technology. While, another group is investigating Future Wireless Technologies, with
collaborations from Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University, Waterford Institute of
Technology, and Brazilian partners UFPR, CPqD, UnB, and UFRJ.
Looking at Web of Science, figures show that citations in scientific publications, with
Brazil-Irleand linkages have nearly doubled since RBI began and reached almost 9,000
in 2014. The number of joint publications between Irish and Brazilian researchers has
been growing solidly too. In 1996, there were only around 10 publications arising from
Brazil-Irleand collaborations. By 2014, this number was approaching 300.
Initially published in EURAXESS Links Brazil Newsletter February 2015 | Page 2 of 3
EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for increased cooperation between both
countries?
There are opportunities for cooperations across the whole spectrum of thematic
areas, as identified by RBI. Ireland is a strong player in the Blue Growth area, for
example, and national policy dictates that this area is getting specific attention for
growth currently.
@Damien Eagers Ireland is a global leader in immunology, dairy, nano-technology, and bio-medicine. It
EURAXESS Ireland is difficult to pinpoint specific areas, as Ireland punches way above its weight, and
supported the poster leads the ranks in several areas.
copetition held at Brazil-
The fact that the Irish and Brazilian cultures are very similar helps to cement the
Ireland Science Week. In the
personal relationships needed to begin collaborative relationships, especially when
picture on the left, Denise
overcoming certain bureacratic barriers, on either side.
Volante received her
EURAXESS sponsoored Ireland receives many Brazilian students and researchers, including under the
prize from Alfonso Jose Science without Borders programme. Do you have exact figures?
Sena Cardosa, Brazilian
To date, Ireland has received more than 2,000 Brazilian students under the Science
ambassador to Ireland.
without Borders programme. In the most recent call, CAPES were blown away by the
Also pictured are Bernard demand from Brazilian students to study in Ireland.
Mahon, left, vice president for
This is great news for Irish higher education institutes (HEIs). The calibre of students
research, Maynooth
that have come to Ireland to date has been very high indeed, and not only does this
University, and Jennifer
travel encourage collaboration between HEIs on either side, but it also creates an ever
Cleary, manager EURAXESS
increasing Irish diaspora in Brazil.
Ireland.
What about Irish researchers in Brazil?
Mobility in the opposite direction is slower, but is increasing as more and more
collaborations are formed. Some Irish researchers have benefitted from the PVE aspect
of Science without Borders, and they have already commenced their teaching in
Brazilian universities. Several others are in advanced planning stages to send students.
Increasing Irish presence in Issues around researcher mobility were discussed at length during the conference, and
Brazil: a new consulate is to some issues arose, particularly around bringing scientific equipment into Brazil. One
be opened in São Paulo in
researcher spoke of his equipment which got stuck in Brazilian customs, and remains
March by Irish education
minister Jan O’Sullivan. there to this day. Issues like this can be both challenging and frustrating.
This adds to Ireland’s local We hope to see some joint calls between Irish and Brazilian funders going forward, and
offices of Enterprise Ireland, this hope was echoed by the funding agency presidents who attended the conference.
Education in Ireland in São
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro In your opinion, what could be done to further enhance the mobility of international
respectively, the Irish researchers between Europe and Brazil?
Embassy in Brasilia, and
representation of Tourism Information is key. The more that various agencies can do to impart information
Ireland, and the Irish Industry regarding vacancies, funding mechanisms, the better. Researchers travelling, not only
Development Authority (IDA), to meet with collobarators, but also to deliver guest lectures, is vital in introducing one
also in São Paulo. research community to the other.
Events like Brazil-Ireland Science Week are fundamental in bringing disparate research
groups together. There is a huge appetite for collaboration between the nations.
Thank you very much for your time.
Initially published in EURAXESS Links Brazil Newsletter February 2015 | Page 3 of 3You can also read
