BISONS Lab present at the 2024 Brazil-Finland Rector’s Forum

The city of Turku held the 2024 Rector’s Forum Brazil-Finland during the 25th and 26th of March. The event brought together a diverse array of academic leaders and representatives from both Brazilian and Finnish higher education institutions. With over 20 Brazilian rectors and representatives in attendance, alongside the Brazilian State Secretary for Higher Education Alexandre Brasil Carvalho da Fonseca and CAPES Director Rui Opperman, the event provided a platform to nurture the growing collaboration between these two nations in the realm of higher education.

The opening ceremony had the presence of Brazilian ambassador Luís Antonio Balduino Carneiro, the educational advisor of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture Kaisu-Maria Piiroinen, and Jukka Kola, Rector of the University of Turku and Chairman of the national Forum for International Affairs in Higher Education and Research of Finland. The event was supported by other key stakeholders including the Brazilian Embassy in Helsinki, Business Finland, the Research Council of Finland, University of Applied Sciences Rector’s Council Arene ry, and the Rectors’ Council of Finnish Universities Unifi ry. The forum emphasised the importance of joint initiatives aimed at fostering mutual benefits for students and educators from both countries alike.

A notable highlight of the event was the seminar organised by the Brazil-Finland Innovation Network, led by diplomat Najara Sena, which featured presentations by researchers with strong ties between Finland and Brazil. Among them, Dr. Ricardo Correia presented the work being done at the BISONS Lab with the audience present at the Turku University of Applied Science’s Kupittaa campus.

Dr. Correia highlighted the deep links that the BISONS Lab holds with Brazilian academia. His research group features Brazilian researchers, namely Dr. Caroline Fukushima who was also present at the event, and has several ongoing collaborations in Brazilian researchers, including Profs. Ana Malhado and Richard Ladle at the Federal University of Alagoas and Prof. Ulysses Albuquerque at the Federal University of Pernambuco. Dr. Correia underscored the importance of interdisciplinary partnerships in addressing pressing biodiversity challenges and offered specific avenues for further cooperation with Brazilian counterparts, including joint funding applications and the possibility of hosting Brazilian researchers in Turku.

*CAPES: Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, a foundation within the Ministry of Education in Brazil whose central purpose is to coordinate efforts to improve the quality of Brazil’s faculty and staff in higher education through grant programs.