Summary: The
creation of a cyber-security policy and investment in research are key targets
The
Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) has outlined
its priorities for 2014 and the development of the country's basic technology
policies, as well as international development programs are on top of the list.
MCTI
minister Marco Antônio Raupp announced the list of targets for this year, which
include six key areas of focus. The first is the development of cybersecurity policies. According to the minister, a major
target for the government within technology is to "develop technology,
knowledge and new systems that give more security to the operation of public
and private sector networks in Brazil."
The
Brazilian government announced in October that it is
looking to invest in startups specializing in cybersecurity and defense so that
it can be better prepared for future threats.
As
part of this workstream, a two-day Global Conference on the Future of Internet
Governance will be held in April. As the event name suggests, the idea is to
create a global governance model for
the Internet. Representatives of the academic
and technology community, the public and private sector and the civil society
are set to take part, as well as representatives from other countries.
The Brazilian Internet Steering
Committee (CGI.br) would be the main partner in the activities around
cybersecurity and governance.
The approval of the Science Code is another priority. The law proposal
of the bill 2177/2011, also known as the "Science Code" is aimed at
making researchers' lives simpler. This would be done by setting specific standards for
less bureaucracy in
technology research and greater flexibility throughout the process of planning
and implementation of projects, particularly in areas such as equipment imports
and contracting services. "This new regulatory framework is essential to
increase, facilitate and promote the activities of science, technology and
innovation in the country," says minister Raupp.
Funding
for infrastructure supporting technology research is also on the government
agenda. According to Raupp, some R$420mi ($178mi) of the federal sector-focused
infrastructure budget were allocated to the National Fund for Scientific and
Technological Development. The money will continue to be invested in the
implementation, modernization, expansion and refreshing the physical
infrastructure of national research through public tenders. "I'd say we
were pretty consistent in channelling resources to public science and
technology institutions in in 2013," the minister says.
In
a similar vein, the Brazilian government will
be ploughing resources into technology-focused government agencies. The creation of four Centers for
Strategic Technologies focused on the Northeast, the Atlantic Rainforest and
the Wetlands will go ahead this year, as well as another facility for water
resources.
Raupp
took stock of the initiative to use advanced technology tools to monitor natural
disasters across the country throughout the country, launched last May. So far, some 934 automatic rain
gauges were delivered, as well as 771 semiautomatic rain gauges and two weather
radars.
"We are seeing the result
now, during the current summer rain season," says Raupp. "We are
avoiding deaths by alerting the authorities to take action when needed and
mitigate the effects of these natural disasters. This is a social program of
great importance, because landslides and floods happen every end of year and
cause massive disruption to the population."
After the shambolic launch of the
Brazilian-Chinese satellite last year, Brazil now wants to build another one in
2014. The continuity of
the Brazilian Space Program is a key item in Raupp's agenda and the launch of
the new CBers series satellite, which was planned for 2015, will happen this
year, according to the minister." We are accelerating the program of CBERS
- 4 to compensate for the failure of CBers-3," Raupp says. Last year, the
latest version of the satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil did not
go into orbit due to technical issues in the launch vehicle.
The
Brazilian government will also continue its educational, innovation and
entrepreneurship programs focused on science, technology
and innovation.
Key programs the MCTI wants to
continue putting resources into are Science without Borders, an international
scholarship program focused on technology and science students - since its
start in 2011, the initiative has given 60,000 out of the 101,000 scholarships
it has set out to award until 2015 - as well as Plano Inova Empresa, an
innovation grant to private sector companies with a cash pool of R$32.9mi ($14mi).
Raupp
also cited the progress made by Start-Up Brasil, the R$20mi ($8.4mi) initiative focused on backing
entrepreneurs in Brazil and abroad -
some 100 companies have been backed by the project so far, out of which 20 are
from other countries. Further selection processes are expected to take place
this year.
Another
area of progress mentioned by Raupp is the creation of the training program
Brasil Mais TI, which trained 103,000 people in 2013, as well as partnerships with global
research and development centers of four companies including SAP. The
idea, according to the minister, is to continue these workstreams and exceed
last year's targets.