By Elton Alisson, from London | Agência FAPESP – The United Kingdom is São Paulo’s second-largest worldwide companion in science. Over the previous 15 years, researchers from the state of São Paulo and Great Britain have printed greater than 18,000 co-authored articles, with a median quotation influence 4 occasions larger than the world common. This efficiency is spectacular, however there may be nonetheless appreciable room for development, particularly in areas comparable to synthetic intelligence, vitality transition, biotechnology, and biodiversity. These areas are of rising curiosity to each scientific communities, as individuals at the opening ceremony of FAPESP Week London highlighted on Monday, June 2, at the Science Museum in London.
The occasion, which was held till June 4, aimed to consolidate and develop scientific partnerships in strategic areas of mutual curiosity between researchers from São Paulo and the UK.
In his remarks, FAPESP President Marco Antonio Zago famous that the earlier version of FAPESP Week London occurred in November 2019, just some weeks earlier than the onset of the world pandemic. “During the three challenging years that followed, more than seven million lives were lost worldwide, including 600,000 in Brazil,” he stated. “Scientific publications declined, international academic exchanges ceased entirely, and the demand for research funding dropped dramatically.”
Zago celebrated the resumption, noting that the present panorama may be very totally different from that of 2019. Artificial intelligence has emerged as the prime analysis precedence for many nations and is already reshaping the means scholarships are submitted and peer-reviewed. FAPESP has additionally undergone a metamorphosis. The company now awards over 10,000 grants and scholarships yearly and helps roughly 50 world-class analysis facilities, half of that are co-funded by the personal sector, stated the FAPESP president. These facilities embody the Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) and the Applied Research Centers (ARCs).
The official highlighted seven strategic themes recognized by FAPESP’s Board of Trustees as priorities for the subsequent three years. These themes current quick alternatives for bilateral cooperation in the areas of biotechnology, vitality transition, biodiversity and sustainable meals manufacturing, digital transition and synthetic intelligence, quantum sciences and applied sciences, human and animal well being, and violence and public security (learn extra at agencia.fapesp.br/57682).
Zago famous that São Paulo already accounts for 40% to 60% of all scientific articles printed in Brazil, and it’s residence to 22% of all know-how jobs and 55% of all science- and technology-based startups (deep techs).
This was FAPESP Week London’s third version which occurred in the British capital’s Science Museum (picture: Agência FAPESP)
Commitment to collaboration
Also current at the occasion’s opening was Francis Wood, Director of International Partnerships at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the UK’s largest public analysis funder. She emphasised that the partnership with FAPESP is one of the establishment’s most sturdy fashions and famous that there’s fertile floor for deepening it. “Science can’t be a solitary endeavor. We need our friends and partners to solve the problems we face and drive the economic growth that all our countries need.”
Even amid inner modifications – UKRI has a new chief government, and a new institutional technique is anticipated quickly – Wood was unequivocal: worldwide collaboration stays at the coronary heart of the establishment’s mission. She highlighted the alignment of priorities between the two businesses, notably in agrotechnology, biodiversity, and local weather, as a strong basis upon which to construct new initiatives.
New horizons for innovation
The depth of this partnership was detailed by Marcio de Castro, Scientific Director of FAPESP, who listed concrete initiatives and outlined the paths ahead. FAPESP and UKRI co-chair the Transatlantic Platform, a multinational consortium targeted on the humanities and social sciences. Since 2009, a responsive settlement with UKRI has allowed researchers to use to all British analysis councils on an ongoing foundation. In 2024, the Medical Research Council issued a bilateral name in the area of synthetic intelligence for well being with a mixed funding of as much as € 6 million and chosen six collaborative tasks. Partnerships with King’s College London and the University of Birmingham – the latter masking environmental sciences, city transport, and well being – additional develop the scope of cooperation.
“For FAPESP Week London, our invitation is to identify new co-funded calls, expand research mobility, and explore joint research centers that can advance this exceptional partnership,” stated Castro.
Global hub of innovation
The scope of this cooperation turns into much more vital when one considers the financial and scientific weight of the state of São Paulo. Vahan Agopyan, the State Secretary of Science, Technology, and Innovation, famous that regardless of comprising solely 3% of the nation’s territory, São Paulo accounts for 70% of the nation’s knowledge-based workforce. The state can also be residence to universities persistently ranked amongst the prime 5 in Latin America: the University of São Paulo (USP), the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and São Paulo State University (UNESP). The state invests round BRL 1.8 billion per yr in analysis and improvement, equal to 11% of its annual finances.
In the area of innovation, the information are equally spectacular: São Paulo is the solely Latin American ecosystem amongst the world’s prime 100, putting twenty sixth in world startup rankings. In the fintech sector, São Paulo has the largest ecosystem in the world. “The government plays its role, which is to support innovation, but not to interfere with it,” stated Agopyan. He described a community of almost 100 innovation hubs, together with incubators, know-how parks, and innovation districts, unfold throughout the state. These hubs carry collectively at the very least 2,200 startups and 700 giant firms.
Innovation diplomacy
The strategic dimension of scientific cooperation was highlighted by Alexandre Brasil, Minister-Counselor at the Brazilian Embassy in London. In his evaluation, science and know-how have ceased to be merely instruments for financial improvement; they’ve turn into “drivers of national sovereignty, social equity, and global influence.” In response, Brazil has institutionalized a method referred to as “innovation diplomacy,” which fits past conventional diplomatic illustration to place the nation as a producer, not only a recipient, of cutting-edge applied sciences.
The program, launched in 2017, operates by science, know-how, and innovation items established at main Brazilian embassies and consulates. This method relies on the “quadruple helix” idea, which unites authorities, academia, the personal sector, and civil society round shared targets. “The scientific cooperation agenda is positive and essential. It reflects a rare opportunity because it’s a win-win situation – both nations benefit from knowledge sharing, mutual trust, and joint solutions to urgent global challenges,” Brasil stated.
The stage for scientific diplomacy
The occasion couldn’t have taken place in a extra symbolic setting. Shri Mukundagiri, the Deputy Executive Director of the British Science Museum, emphasised the museum’s historic ties to Brazil and the potential of science communication to strengthen that relationship. In latest years, the museum hosted the images exhibition Amazonia and introduced Water and Fire, an exhibition that explored the intersection between excessive climate occasions and human experiences in Brazil. An adaptation of the exhibition Injecting Hope – about the race for a vaccine for COVID-19 – was displayed at the Brazilian Embassy in London.
“The strongest bridges between nations are built not only through diplomacy but also through shared curiosity, mutual respect, and a commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of all humanity,” Mukundagiri stated, emphasizing that this dedication is particularly needed “at a time when the role and virtue of science are frequently questioned in both our nations.”
Upcoming editions
To conclude the opening ceremony, Raul Machado, FAPESP’s Institutional Relations Manager and coordinator of FAPESP Week, offered context for the occasion’s historical past. The sequence started in Washington, D.C., in 2011 and has taken place in Uruguay, France, Spain, and Germany in latest years. Data present a constant improve in joint proposals submitted after every version, proof that the format serves as an actual catalyst for collaboration. The subsequent editions have already been confirmed: in the Netherlands in October 2026 and in Canada in 2027.
“We’re looking for more than just scientific presentations during the event,” Machado concluded. “We want interaction, networking, and new proposed partnership among participants.”
More details about FAPESP Week London is obtainable at fapesp.br/week/2026/london.