Science and Technology
Science (from the Latin scientia, translated “knowledge”) refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. Strictly speaking, science refers to the system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method as well as the organized body of knowledge gained through such research.
Science, technology and innovation are fundamental for the advancement of society. Science allows humanity to understand a little more about nature, science is important in our life because it helps us to have a better quality of life, because through science many diseases have been eliminated.
Science enables advances in health, food, energy and more.
Science is more present than we imagine, in the little things of everyday life. We can start with technological development. Its benefits are present throughout our routine, facilitating daily services and activities that, today, we cannot imagine otherwise.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CONCEPTS
Science, technology and innovation (ST&I) “are, in the contemporary world scenario, fundamental instruments for development, economic growth, job and income generation and the democratization of opportunities” (PACTI, 2007, p. 29) .
According to UNESCO, “science is the set of organized knowledge about the mechanisms of causality of observable facts, obtained through the objective study of empirical phenomena”; while “technology is the set of scientific or empirical knowledge directly applicable to the production or improvement of goods or services”.
Technology is a product of science and engineering that involves a set of instruments, methods and techniques aimed at solving problems. It is a practical application of scientific knowledge in several areas of research.
Innovation is the action or act of innovating, that is, modifying old customs, quirks, laws, processes, etc.; effect of renewal or creation of a novelty. The concept of innovation is widely used in the business, environmental or even economic context.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION OBJECTIVES
Classically, the main aim of science has been to build knowledge and understanding, regardless of its potential applications — for example, investigating the chemical reactions that an organic compound undergoes in order to learn about its structure.
Science satisfies human curiosity. A basic, essential curiosity, probably linked to the evolution of the species. Science makes humanity evolve. It is thanks to her that you are reading this text on a computer screen.
Science seeks to understand reality through rational thinking and the systematic observation of facts, considering the relationships between them and leading to the possibility of controlling and predicting events.
The use of technology is present at all times, from the time we wake up to when we go to sleep. Thanks to it, we can check emails, check WhatsApp messages, enjoy music or even engage in meditation while listening to relaxing audio. In 1440 –
Printing technology was created by Gutenberg. 1454 – German Johann Gutenberg. invents the machine called the Press. With this machine, man began to produce books faster and more efficiently.
Considering that innovations are capable of generating competitive advantages in the medium and long term, innovating becomes essential for the sustainability of companies and countries in the future.
Innovation has the ability to add value to a company’s products, differentiating it, even if momentarily, in the competitive environment. It is even more important in commodity markets. That is, with a high level of competition and whose products are practically equivalent among suppliers.
Those who innovate in this context, whether incrementally or radically, in terms of product, process or business model, are at an advantage over others, as they allow companies to access new markets, increase their revenues, establish new partnerships, acquire new knowledge and increase the value of their brands.
FUTURE: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Science, technology and innovation have become so essential these days that it is impossible to imagine the world without the universe that surrounds them.
What would it be like, for example, to live without internet, cell phones, state-of-the-art instruments and equipment used in the most diverse sectors, such as health and safety?
We are used to using smartphone APPs and credit card machines without having any idea of the path taken to make these discoveries part of our daily lives.
History shows us that developed countries did not reach this level by chance. They adopted policies and invested in scientific and technological development and, as a result, managed to reach the top. Unfortunately, Brazil has not yet reached this level of maturity.
Even in recent years, the country has reduced public funds for these sectors. Why is investing in science so important? Because the development of any country is directly related to the investment of capital in the sector. Innovation, research, scientific training, in the end, is a public good.
By the end of October, Brazilian universities and research institutions had lost almost 18,000 scholarships in 2019 alone. Last May, the federal government set aside 42% of the expenses of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) .
The criteria, praised by scientific entities, do not seem to have been followed in the implementation of the policy. Medium-quality programs saw sharp increases in the number of grants (up to 500%), while other, highly qualified programs saw sharp reductions.
The two largest graduate programs in Physics in Brazil, headquartered at the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Physics of São Carlos, both at the University of São Paulo (USP), had cuts of 40% to 50% in doctoral scholarships. Both obtained the maximum quality score measured by Capes.
Of the entire amount of R$ 4.9 billion allocated to the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development), 87.7% are frozen and cannot be used. In the specific case of the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), the amount allocated exclusively to scientific promotion shrank by 84.4%.
When examining in more detail the headings exclusive to the promotion of stricto sensu programs and research, the seriousness of the problem is observed.
The fault, in this case, lies with the contingency reserve imposed by the Ministry of Economy on the FNDCT. In 2020, according to an analysis made by the SBPC of the Federal Budget, 87.7% of the total collected by the fund is frozen by the government.
Which means to say that of the total available, approximately R$ 4.9 billion, only R$ 600 million are actually released to fund science in Brazil.
Science is done in the long term, not just to attend to immediacy. Brazil is currently the 11th country in the global ranking in scientific production. The country has 200,000 researchers, a number that in proportion per 1 million inhabitants is below that of several nations, such as Argentina,
the United States, the countries of the European Union, South Korea and Israel.
The budget of the main institutions and funds in the area has reduced by less than half in the last seven years. That of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) reached BRL 8 billion in 2013 and is now at BRL 3.5 billion.
The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), responsible for graduate scholarships, had its budget reduced from R$ 7.4 billion to R$ 3.2 billion in the same period.
Brazil ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index in 2019 and is not investing in the sector like other nations. What is happening in the USA, Europe, China is that there is recognition by the government and society that investing in ST&I is a priority and is a vector for development.
This recognition corresponds to the availability of instruments, the formulation of policies and financial resources sustained over the years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has invested in R&D above 2% of GDP. In Brazil, until the last data available, we have less than 1.3% of the GDP.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Science, Technology and Innovation are, in the contemporary world scenario, fundamental instruments for development, economic growth, job and income generation and the democratization of opportunities.
The Federal Constitution of 1988 paid attention to scientific development, imposing on the State, in accordance with Articles 218 and 219, the duty to promote and encourage research and technological training.
with a view to the public good, and the social importance that such investment inflicts on a country’s technological progress and economic growth.
The development of a country is directly related to the investment of capital in this sector. Article 218 of the Magna Carta reads “The State will promote and ENCOURAGE scientific development, research, scientific and technological training and INNOVATION.”
Research contributes to the generation of knowledge and to the development of humanity. Investments in research and innovation in third world and/or developing countries are important tools for independence from first world countries.
Science allows humanity to understand a little more about nature, science is important in our life because it helps us to have a better quality of life, because through science many diseases have been eliminated.
The Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), founded in 1916, presents proposals for the sustainable and socially fair development of Brazil to decisively and definitely incorporate science, technology and innovation as a State policy.
In the contemporary world, it is essentially impossible to create good jobs, combat poverty, reduce inequality and strengthen democratic governance without a substantial improvement in education, the intensive use of science, the application of locally more efficient technologies and the introduction of the culture of innovation throughout society.
Brazil has unique conditions to efficiently use science, technology and innovation in a daring and transformative development project that contributes to reducing inequalities, improving the population’s standard of living and placing the country in a prominent place on the international scene.
The already installed scientific competence, the complex research support infrastructure consolidated over the last few years, its territorial dimension, its population and the diversity of its ecosystems allow this path.
At the same time, the space of basic science must be preserved as an inducer of great scientific and technological transformations and promoter of a culture of truth and knowledge.
It is said that Brazil’s science and technology system officially begins with the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), created in 1951 to encourage our progress in the area. Brazil occupies low positions when it comes to innovation.
According to a list released by Forbes, of the 2 thousand largest companies in the world, only 1% is Brazilian.
By highlighting the theme of sustainable development, Brazil recognizes the importance of advancing science, technology and innovation as a fundamental vector of economic growth, environmental conservation and improved quality of life.
The science, technology and innovation sector has a strategic role in helping other areas to develop. One of the clearest examples is agribusiness, which reaped the fruits of the efforts of Brazilian researchers and scientists who dedicated themselves to finding solutions for rural producers.
Science can be understood as the human endeavor to describe, understand, explain and predict phenomena, as well as the existing relationships between the characteristics of these phenomena, making use of empiricism, skepticism, the scientific method and technology.
By answering big questions and tackling important challenges in our daily lives, science creates knowledge and improves people’s education and quality of life, reducing inequalities and building bridges. How to teach science and technology?
The study of science must be a teaching based on research, that is, the discovery by children of something through their own actions and systematization of observations through thought. Thus, the child will learn through his physical and mental activity.
The world seems to depend more and more on scientific and technological knowledge.
The classic conception of the relations between science, technology and society, often present in different areas of the academic world and in the media, is an essentialist and triumphalist conception, in which it is assumed that more science produces more technology that generates more wealth and, consequently, more social well-being. Authors such as Echeverría (1995), Garcia, Cerezo and López (1996) and López and Cerezo (1996) with
