Brazil-UK research networks bring mutual benefits

A report published today (12 June 2003) found that the UK and Brazilian academics benefited from the opportunities of working more closely and had planned further activities in the future.

Groups of UK and Brazilian scientists, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Brazilian federal and state agencies, have been collaborating on industry-related research projects for the past three years. The networks are in the areas of industrial catalysis, corrosion protection (both primarily geared towards the oil and gas industries) and phytopharmaceuticals.

The principal aim of the project was to find out if research programmes, led by consortia of UK and Brazilian universities and research centres, could be enhanced through international collaboration, and to find out if university expertise could be exploited to the mutual advantage of universities and industry in the two partner countries.

The report, 'UK-Brazil Collaborative Research Networks: evaluation of pilot project', available from HEFCE's web-site and the Brazilian Embassy web-site www.brazil.org.uk, considers how each network developed and offers advice to anyone wishing to set up similar networks. Around £225,000 was given to the UK networks, with each having access to up to £33,000 per year. The UK networks were expected to raise funding for research projects from industry or Research Council grants and other sources.

The three Brazilian networks were part of a larger programme of nine priority research areas in the state of Rio de Janeiro which itself is part of a wider Federal Scheme. Two of the three networks are in engineering-related fields with strong links to the oil and gas industry in Rio, in particular with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. The Brazilian partner agency in Rio was FAPERJ (Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro), along with federal and state universities and FINEP (the federal funding agency for innovation).

Network members

Catalysis - led by Cardiff University, with network members from the Universities of Bath and Bradford and University of Liverpool (which formerly led the network). In Brazil it was led by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Integrity Management and Corrosion Control Network - led by University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), with network members from the Universities of Glasgow, Leeds, Wales (Swansea) and University College London. The Brazilian team was led by the National Institute of Technology, Rio de Janeiro.

Phytopharmaceuticals - led by King's College London, with network members from the University of Strathclyde, the School of Pharmacy, University of London, the University of Bradford and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The Industrial Partners include Molecular Nature Ltd, Oxford Natural Products PLC and Phytopharm PLC. In Brazil the team was led by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Notes to editors

1. HEFCE is a non-departmental government body which distributes public money for teaching and research to universities and colleges in England. In doing so, it aims to promote high quality education and research, within a financially healthy sector. The Council also plays a key role in ensuring accountability and promoting good practice.

2. The bilateral collaborative project developed from inter-government discussions during a 1998 visit to Brazil by Baroness Blackstone, then Minister for Education and Employment, when she met the Brazilian Ministers for Education, Culture and Sport and for Science and Technology. The Minister was accompanied by, among others, Professor Sir Brian Fender, then Chief Executive of the HEFCE. The activity was to be focused around themes of direct interest to industry or the public sector in both countries. The project was also intended to support UK government initiatives to develop links with Brazil. Two important criteria were that there had to be added value from working in this way, and that the project should be sustainable after the initial development funding had ended.

3. The Brazilian networks were linked to a federally-sponsored engineering development project, PRODENGE, started in 1998, which was developed and run by the federal funding agency for innovation, FINEP. Funded by FAPERJ, the Brazilian networks included federal and state Universities of Rio de Janeiro, local universities and Rio-based research centres.

Further information

Further information can be obtained from:

On the Brazilian networks, Paulo Wrobel
Tel: 0207 399 9243, email: pwrobel@infolondres.org.uk

Catalysis: Dr Stuart Taylor, Cardiff University
Tel: 029 2087 4062, e-mail: TaylorSH@Cardiff.ac.uk
Professor José Luiz Monteiro, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Tel: 00 55 21 590 2441, e-mail: sr5@acd.ufrj.br

Corrosion: Professor George Thomson, UMIST
Tel: 0161 200 4859, e-mail: GEThompson@umist.ac.uk
Dr Eduardo Cavalcanti, National Institute of Technology
Tel: 00 55 21 2206 1198, e-mail: eduardoh@int.gov.br

Phytopharmaceuticals: Professor Peter Houghton, King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 4775, e-mail: peter.houghton@kcl.ac.uk
Professor Antonio Jorge da Silva, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Tel: 00 55 21 2270 2683, e-mail: ajorge@nppn.ufrj.br

For the UK networks, Jannette Cheong
Head of International Collaboration and Development, HEFCE
Tel: 020 420 2206, e-mail: j.cheong@hefce.ac.uk