Vale and Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) will offer 20 postdoc scholarships for Brazilians and foreigners who wish to perform research in the Vale Institute of Technology (ITV) units in Ouro Preto (MG) and Belém (PA), in Mining and Sustainable Development topics. “This type of partnership promotes closer ties between the academy and business, and increases the potential to generate innovation and wealth for the country”, said the Executive Manager of Vale Innovation and Technology, Luiz Mello, who is also the CEO of the Vale Institute of Technology.
In addition to scholarships, the total amounts to R$ 7,000 each, and R$ 10,000 will be allocated to the project coordinator to be applied to activities of the scholarship-holders. The scholarships have a maximum validity of 24 months. Candidates wishing to join must submit project proposals by October 30. The second phase is from November 1 of this year to March 31, 2017.
The initiative aims to promote research conducted in ITV in areas such as environmental geology and water resources; biodiversity and biotechnology; meteorology and climate change; process automation and integration; extractive metallurgy and surface phenomena. “The doctoral education in Brazil is more academic, strictly scientific and, with very rare exceptions, does not address Research & Development (R&D), which is precisely the profile the industry needs. In this way, our program is a kind of trainee for R&D in the industry”, said the Scientific Director of Vale Institute of Technology, José Oswaldo Siqueira.
Postdoc scholarships enable the newly formed doctor to be more engaged in an applied research project in which he or she will interact with ITV researchers and experienced professionals in various areas of Vale. “It is a relationship in which everyone wins and contributes to the solution of relevant problems for the company and for the country”, Mello adds.