Opinion – Sou Ciência: What we want for Higher Education and Science

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The Centro de Estudos Sociedade, Universidade e Ciência, SoU_Ciência, is a space for research and proposal formulation, which since July 2021 has been working on data collections on Higher Education, its expansion, funding, affirmative policies, action in the pandemic and public perception of science. Two dimensions are especially decisive for us: the connection between the University and Society and the Higher Education System with that of Science and Technology.

Our research and open data that support it have been constantly presented, in articles on this Blog, on our website, in academic congresses and publication in Brazilian and foreign scientific journals. In recent months, we have systematized three large panels containing data: 1) on the actions and capacity of federal universities during the covid-19 pandemic, without which the losses would have been even greater; 2) on the (un)financing of federal universities and research, science and technology bodies, in particular the kidnapping of resources from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development; 3) about the worrying expansion of the private sector and distance learning, with a lack of regulation and quality control, with consequences for our young people.

In addition, we carry out national opinion surveys and listening focus groups, as we understand that dialogue with society cannot be a one-way street and it is necessary to ask, listen and understand what the population thinks about science. We gather your interests and demands for Brazilian research and our universities, suggestions on how we can improve the dissemination of what we do and access to academic production, in order to consolidate the growing interest in historically and scientifically based knowledge. After the tragic moment of denialism and necropolitics that we are experiencing, and in reaction to this, the national interest in science and research is something to be not only celebrated and stimulated, but transformed into politics, expanded access and guaranteed as a right.

When carrying out this listening work, it became clear the need to listen and develop proposals with the scientific community to expand our social connection, and make the production of knowledge part of our daily life, not only in educational institutions. It is important that universities continue to open up to this dialogue, creating spaces for listening and dialogue with society, its entities and social movements, through forums, strategic councils, thematic meetings, research-extension projects, etc. We, at SoU_Ciência, created a Society Council and based on our analysis and previous accumulation, and broad dialogue, we built proposals that we presented to society, candidates in the last elections and governments with the entities and organizations that participate in it.

During the electoral period, we participated in debates and collaborated to clarify some of the points that gained prominence, in particular the dramatic situation of (un)funding of public higher education and science, which reached the lowest levels in the Bolsonaro administration, at levels never seen before. in our country. Even in the face of evidence, the government tried to rebut the accusations, with false and lying news about our universities and attacks on researchers.

After the election, with the victory of the candidate and the proposal that resumes the environment of dialogue with society and public institutions, in the democratic construction of citizenship and public policies, we are excited about the work of reconstruction and redesign of Education, Science , Health, Environment and Culture. They are elements of the formation of a nation and the development of a people, and as such, they will be fundamental for Brazil to conquer a place of international respect, equity and justice and to ward off anti-democratic threats.

In the next articles on the Blog SoU_Ciência, we will present and discuss the proposals for Higher Education and Science, with the aim of detailing, but also contributing to the next period, whose work will be of great proportions. The task will be enormous, but we have already shown evidence of our ability to act in adverse contexts and deep crisis: universities and research institutes played a decisive role in the pandemic, in a short time and under attack. At federal universities, there were more than 1,000 actions in more than 500 municipalities, as shown by the SoU_Ciência panel.

These were activities that served more than 40 million people, in the fight against hunger and poverty, in assistance in our university hospitals, in research programs for the Oxford and Coronavac vaccines, in new treatments, in the development of new fabrics for making masks, in telehealth with services that have taken on large proportions, including for Mental Health, in addition to data analysis, in socioeconomic research, in support of vulnerable populations, and particularly in communication with reliable information. We have seen how much scientists and students have gained space to make scientific dissemination (far beyond popularization) based on evidence-based data and information that were important to combat fake science and anti-vaccine movements. These were actions that gave results at the cutting edge and reached the entire population. Proof of this was the recent survey by SoU_Ciência that showed the growth of credibility and public recognition of scientists, considered by the population to be the most reliable professionals in Brazil.

We have the dream of rebuilding Brazil as a more just, sustainable and informed country that does not allow the setbacks of recent times to devastate us again. For this, treating Education and Science as rights and as public goods will be fundamental. This dream is not a mere illusion, it is a dream that has everything to come true, as it is the result of decades of collective mobilization, with clear proposals and concrete results to make the Brazil we deserve to be.

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