On Thursday afternoon (06/08) in Brazil, and early Friday morning (08/08) in Australia, representatives of the National Council for State Research Support Foundations (Confap), of the Australian Department of Education, Training and Employment (DESE), and the Australian Embassy in Brazil, met by videoconference, to align the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the entities, with the purpose of exchanging research and development actions between Brazil and Australia. At the opening of the meeting, the President of Confap, Prof. Fábio Guedes Gomes, summarized the important role that the Council, in the set of its FAPs, have in the country, and shared his expectations for the partnership.
On the agenda of the meeting, various issues and possibilities for joint action between Confap and DESE were addressed, with emphasis on the alignment of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); the Tropical Water Research Alliance (TWRA – Tropical Water Research Alliance); and future missions by Brazilian researchers to exchange with the Australian innovation ecosystem.
Another important topic discussed at the meeting was the Tropical Water Research Alliance (TWRA – Tropical Water Research Alliance), a partnership between institutions (public and private) and the academic environment in Brazil and Australia, which was presented on 07/30 for Confap, and its general objective is to develop environmental technologies and methodological support for the development of integrated and sustainable management in tropical watersheds, through personal training, mitigation of the effects of environmental degradation and climate change.
“The theme of water is strategic for Brazil, especially for the Brazilian Northeast. We have dozens of researchers already working for TWRA, and I believe that the Alliance can be the pilot of an effective partnership experience between Brazil – via Confap, and Australia – via DESE, through the Memorandum of Understanding, ” said Guedes.