The Belgian economic mission, chaired by Princess Astrid of Belgium, is visiting Brazil until November 30 - Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Images
On Tuesday, November 26, President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior signed four academic cooperation agreements with universities in Belgium.
Two documents were signed with Ghent University, represented by President Rik Van de Walle, in the areas of Biosciences and Engineering. The Free University of Brussels (ULB) was represented by President Annemie Schaus, and Hasselt University was represented by its Vice-provost for Research, Ken Haenen.
The agreements recognize a privileged partnership between the institutions and undertake to encourage the exchange of students, researchers and teachers, develop joint research and carry out activities such as conferences and academic colloquiums, allocating special funds for these actions.
On the occasion, in addition to the documents signed by USP, another 22 academic and commercial agreements were signed with various Brazilian and Belgian institutions, such as the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the Brazilian National Council to State Funding Agencies (Confap), Suzano and OBA Hortifruti.
Two other São Paulo universities took part in the ceremony. São Paulo State University (Unesp), represented by the provost of Graduate Studies, Maria Valnice Boldrin, signed an agreement with the Ghent University; and the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), represented by the executive director of International Relations, Osvaldir Pereira Taranto, signed a partnership with the University of Antwerp.
Belgian Economic Mission
The agreement-signing ceremony was part of the schedule of activities of the Belgian Economic Mission, chaired by Princess Astrid of Belgium, who is visiting São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro between November 23 and 30.
The mission is made up of a delegation made up of business people and representatives from Belgian universities, whose aim is to strengthen economic ties and establish partnerships to promote sustainable practices in the industrial sector and develop research in partnership with Brazilian universities.
[From left] Annemie Schaus (Free University of Brussels), Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior (USP), Maria Valnice Boldrin (Unesp) and Princess Astrid of Belgium - Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Images
The Belgian mission’s schedule also included meetings at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), Embraer’s office and a meeting with the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas. At USP, researchers also visited the Institute of Chemistry (IQ), the Faculty of Humanities (FFLCH), the School of Engineeering (Poli) and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF).
Food Research Center
Also as part of the Belgian mission’s program, researchers from Belgian universities took part in the event From the farm to the table: how sustainable agriculture improves food quality, held on Thursday morning, November 27, at InovaUSP.
The event is the result of a partnership between Wagralim, an agri-food innovation cluster in Wallonia (Belgium), and USP’s Food Research Center (FoRC), the first Brazilian multidisciplinary research center focused on food science and nutrition.
Among other subjects, the event discussed topics on sustainable agriculture, innovation in agricultural bio-inputs, the challenges of sustainable development, and funding opportunities for research.
English version: Nexus Traduções
