The 3rd EURAXESS Links – “Connecting Researchers Worldwide” conference was held in Rio de Janeiro on 11 May 2016 in celebration of the strong scientific relations and extensive researcher mobility between Europe and the Latin American countries. This was the first edition of this biennial conference on the American continent. Organised by the European Commission and EURAXESS Brazil, the conference brought together more than 180 participants, including researchers, academics, industry representatives and public bodies from Europe and Brazil. The programme included high level speakers such as Mr João Cravinho, Ambassador of the European Union to Brazil, Professor Jorge Guimarães, EMBRAPII’s president and Professor Pedricto Rocha Filho, acting president of FINEP, as well as representatives of the European Commission’s main funding bodies, Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) and the European Research Council (ERC). Professor Maria Zaira Turchi, vice-president of the Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) and two other representatives of this institution, Heloisa Dallanhol and Elisa Natola, also participated in the event.

Through the conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian researchers learned about opportunities in Europe. During the afternoon workshop, the researchers were trained and received hints and tips for a successful application for European research grants and other sources of funding.
Based on open discussions rather than individual presentations, conference sessions addressed ways to increase the scope of mobility of researchers and innovation actors between both regions, bringing research and industry together to form partnerships, and improve networking methods to tap into newest opportunities.

“The conference attracted an enthusiastic and engaged audience, which is very promising and hopeful for the achievement of practical results for EU-Brazil researchers’ relations. We want to see more opportunities, more research projects and more cooperation between the two research communities as a result of this event,” said Charlotte Grawitz, Country Representative for EURAXESS Links Brazil.
Interested researchers and research community stakeholders in Brazil who missed the opportunity to attend, can subscribe to the EURAXESS Links Brazil newsletter via brazil@euraxess.net.
Presentations made during the event, including at the training session on How to submit a successful proposal for EU funding by Elisa Natola (CONFAP) are available here.

The EURAXESS initiative aims at facilitating mobility, improving careers of researchers and raising the attractiveness of European research opportunities.

Source: Euraxess Links Brazil