UFSC Highlights

UFSC launches Brazilian Portuguese Survival Course for foreign students

 

Developed to be a first experience for international visitors before arriving in Brazil, and an important tool in the University’s internationalization process, the Brazilian Portuguese Survival Course arose from a clear need: a large number of international students at UFSC enter and leave the institution without learning to speak Portuguese. With this in mind, the staff from the Office of International Relations (Sinter) united their ideas and experiences with the technical expertise of the Office of Distance Education (Sead) to develop a 100% asynchronous Portuguese language course, fully adapted to situations that take place at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC).

The objective of SINTER and SEAD is to train international students, faculty and staff, who will carry out mobility and academic cooperation activities at UFSC, by offering an online, self-instructional course that will enable them to communicate in basic Portuguese. The course seeks to help in the welcoming process of the participants when they arrive at UFSC and to awaken their interest in learning the Brazilian language and culture.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC Observatory is launched with more than 300 indicators on 21 areas of university activity

 

On 30 November, the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) promoted the official launch of the UFSC Observatory, a platform for transparency and management support that integrates, in a single environment, data and information from various domains of the University.

Representatives of the Ministry of Education, the state government, the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) and the Santa Catarina State Foundation for the Support of Research and Innovation (Fapesc) participated in the online ceremony.

The Rector Ubaldo Cesar Balthazar, the Vice-Rector Cátia Regina de Carvalho Pinto, prorectors, secretaries, school deans, heads of departments, undergraduate and graduate program coordinators, students, faculty, and administrative staff from UFSC also participated. The web conference was streamed on YouTube.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC is one of the three most innovative universities in the country

 

The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) was a finalist in the Startup Awards 2021 and was ranked among the three most innovative universities in the Brazilian innovation ecosystem. There were over 44 thousand indications for the 15 award categories, and three finalists were chosen for each category based on the largest number of votes. In the University category, UFSC competed for the award with the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and the Pontífica Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), with USP taking first place. The trophy award ceremony took place on 19 November 2021.

The motivation to participate in the event began with the SINOVA UFSC Startup Mentoring Project, which connects the university to the innovation ecosystem in Santa Catarina. For Professor Alexandre Moraes Ramos, Secretary for Innovation at UFSC, the recognition of the award allowed for a historical retrieval of the innovative and entrepreneurial culture existing at the university.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC and partner institutions launch Pan American Network for Environmental Epidemiology on Monday, 29

 

The Laboratory of Applied Virology of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology of the School of Biological Sciences (MIP/CCB) at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), together with other governmental and academic institutions from 14 Latin American countries, launched on Monday, 29 November, the Pan American Network for Environmental Epidemiology (Panacea). The Panacea network is capable of obtaining real-time data to detect microbiological and chemical risks in the region. In addition, it seeks to develop and implement new molecular tools for application in environmental epidemiology, as well as to train professionals capable of producing, analyzing, and interpreting data.

The initiative has collaboration with the University of Newcastle, the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, the Karolinska Institute, and MGI Tech. Panacea is also supported by the Northumbrian Water Group and the Suez Group, and aims to expand the current analytical capabilities of Latin American and Caribbean countries to implement Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) programs.

Continue reading HERE.

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COP26: UFSC researchers co-author a report that assesses the situation in the Amazon

 

The Scientific Panel for the Amazon (SPA), a group that brings together more than 200 scientists, released this Friday, 12 November, the first Amazon Assessment Report. Presented in Glasgow, Scotland, at a parallel event to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, Cop26, the document warns that the Amazon is approaching a potential and catastrophic point of no return, due to deforestation, degradation, forest fires and climate change, and calls on global governments, public and private sector leaders, policy makers and the general public to act now to prevent further devastation in the region.

According to the SPA, this is the most detailed, comprehensive and holistic material of its kind on the Amazon Basin. In its 34 chapters, it provides a systematic overview of the state of ecosystems and peoples in the Amazon and offers policy makers recommendations for the conservation of this ecosystem and paths for the sustainable development of the region. It also highlights the importance of science, technology, innovation, indigenous peoples and local knowledge to guide decision-making and policy-making.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC professor takes part in report presented at COP26 about urgent risks and solutions in climate science

 

In a report released this Thursday, 4 November, at the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP26), a group of scientists highlighted some of the most important recent discoveries related to climate change. The document 10 New Insights in Climate Science is a compilation of an article published in October on the University of Cambridge website, produced by 62 researchers from 22 countries and five continents. The professor at the Department of Physics at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) Marina Hirota is one of the authors.

Aimed at decision makers, the material summarizes the advancement of scientific knowledge, with data from studies published in the last year, on some of the most urgent topics and has the intention of raising awareness about the actions necessary to preserve a safe and habitable planet. In presenting the report, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, highlighted that the topics cover distinct but interrelated issues, such as the increase in mega-fires around the world and new justifications related to the cost-benefits of rapid climate action. Each item is accompanied of political recommendations in many different scales of action – from global do local.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC has 33 researchers on the updated list of the world’s 100,000 most influential scientists

 

* Updated 29 October 2021, at 2:37 pm, to include the list of scientists with current data (2020)

* Updated 3 November 2021, at 2:32 pm, to update the number of scientists linked to UFSC. Previously, the news mentioned 26 researchers, and, in total, considering the two lists, UFSC has 33 people cited in the study.

The third update of a survey conducted by a team at Stanford University, in the United States, was published on the 19  October, containing data to the list of over 100,000 of the most influential scientists in the world. UFSC has 26 researchers on the new list, which includes a total of 812 Brazilian researchers. Data from the latest version of the survey, published in 2020, indicated 14 researchers from UFSC and 600 representatives from Brazil.

The study update uses citations from the Scopus database until August 2021. Data were compiled into two spreadsheets, with scientists ranked by the citations they received throughout their careers (download link) and another with scientists ranked by current data (download link).

Continue reading HERE.

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A never-seen-before bird and a lot of richness: get to know the fauna of the Distrito do Saí, which should be protected by Wildlife Refuge

 

Embroidered bird with a robust beak*, according to Wiki Aves, is the meaning for the scientific nomenclature of Pachyramphus marginatus, or just “black-capped becard”. The small animal, which measures up to 14 cm and weighs no more than 18 grams, had its distribution recorded from Pernambuco to Paraná, but in December 2019 it was seen for the first time even further south, specifically in the Distrito do Saí region.

The ornithologists who recognized it are from the team at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina responsible for the socio-environmental survey for the creation of a conservation unit in São Francisco do Sul, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina. First, the team identified the male. A few months later, a female was also seen for the first time, consolidating the hypothesis that the forest has a lot to present, including in terms of ecological tourism.

Continue reading HERE.

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Abundant water and regenerated forest will be preserved with the creation of a Wildlife Refuge in São Chico

 

The abundance of water and the richness of species in the forest in the Distrito do Saí reinforce what researchers at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina have already recognized from the literature and other works in the locality: it is necessary to promote the conservation of the biodiversity and enhance sustainable tourism in the region. The creation of a Wildlife Refuge will allow the Atlantic Forest to remain protected, which also guarantees quality water and other benefits to the communities.

“Ensuring the preservation of the forest plays an important role in connecting people with nature, in entering the forest and feeling comfortable. The forest promotes a very pleasant sensation: thermal, aesthetic sensation, of walking into a forest and being able to see flowers, birds, insects. Since this type of tourism is more focused on enjoying the environment, it is important that the forest is very well preserved”, explains Professor Pedro Fiaschi, from the Botany department.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC and the community of São Francisco do Sul suggest the creation of a Wildlife Refuge in the Distrito do Saí

 

In the woods, on top of a hill on the North Coast of Santa Catarina, a small Black-capped Becard is ready to brave its way into a new world. It could be a character in a cartoon, but it is a bird seen for the first time in a state where it is not usually seen. The chosen region is full of attractive features: with diverse species and abundant water, it should become the first conservation unit on the mainland of São Francisco do Sul, as a result of extensive work that brought together science and communities in the Distrito do Saí.

The partnership started after the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) was hired by the São Francisco do Sul City Hall to study the region. The funds came as part of a fine collected by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and were applied to analyse the characteristics for the creation of a municipal conservation unit, in a previously established polygon. The study resulted in a report with more than 700 pages, which organizes knowledge about aspects such as hydrology, geology, fauna and flora in the region and also presents a socio-anthropological history of the area, recommended to become a Wildlife Refuge.

Continue reading HERE.

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UFSC report recommends the creation of a conservation unit in the North of SC; read the series ‘Nascentes do Sai’

 

A threatened Atlantic Forest, a team of researchers and a community interested in sharing their knowledge and debating the region’s preservation. The Nascentes do Saí project, formally entitled Socio-environmental Diagnosis for the Creation of a Conservation Unit in Vila da Glória, municipality of São Francisco do Sul/SC, gave rise to a report that has over  700 pages highlighting a recommendation to the government: it is necessary to legally preserve the polygon that involves forests, hills, river sources and hundreds of species before it is destroyed.

To fulfill the objective of drawing up a socio-environmental diagnosis of the region, the multidisciplinary project had a team of professors and students from various centers at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and also from Univille to carry out studies on fauna, flora, geology and geomorphology, socioanthropology, land survey and geographic characterization. Its guidelines ranged from the preservation of water resources to the availability of natural resources for scientific research, as well as the creation of environmental education programs and the proposal of a plan for the construction of the unit’s Conservation and Territorial Management Policies.

Continue reading HERE.

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Outreach project promotes training in the community of São Francisco do Sul

 

The Environmental Education and Governance team of the Nascentes do Saí outreach project, under the coordination of Professor Rodrigo de Almeida Mohedano from the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, promoted, throughout April and May, a series of training sessions with the community of the Distrito do Saí, in the city of São Francisco do Sul (SC). There were four short courses given by professors and researchers from UFSC, in addition to self-employed professionals who work in the socio-environmental field. Through video classes, contents on mapping, protected areas, ecosystem services and income generation from conservation units, were addressed.

In the first short course, participants learned about the recognition of territory through cartographic representations. The maps were used to identify the location, topographic characteristics, vegetation, soil use and the process of human occupation in the Distrito do Saí. In the second course, concepts related to protected areas were shared, such as permanent preservation areas and conservation units, and the main laws that regulate the subject in Brazil. Furthermore, the participants were able to understand the process of creation and management of these conservation units, as well as the main instruments of management and social participation.

Continue reading HERE.

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Nascentes do Saí Project presents partial results of its research

 

The Nascentes do Saí outreach project will host on Thursday, 8 October , at 7 pm, a webinar on its Youtube channel to publicize the second partial report on their research and activities.

The project is a partnership between the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and the city of São Francisco do Sul for the elaboration of a multidisciplinary technical study in an area located in the Distrito do Saí, in the municipality of São Francisco do Sul.

At the meeting, the teams responsible for diagnosing the physical (hydrology, geology, geography, geomorphology), social (socioanthropological, historical, occupation) and biological (fauna and flora) environments will present the studies carried out, and the results found in the last months of activity.

More information about the activity and the Nascentes do Saí Project on the project’s website, Facebook and Instagram.

Translated by SINTER/UFSC

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‘Nascentes do Saí’ outreach project presents a socio-environmental diagnosis partial report

 

The “Nascentes do Saí” outreach project released this Tuesday 31 March, the partial report of a study that aims to present a socio-environmental diagnosis of the Distrito do Saí region, located in the municipality of São Francisco do Sul, on the North coast Santa Catarina. The initiative arose from a contract signed between the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) and the São Francisco do Sul City Hall, for the preparation of a multidisciplinary technical study.

Check the partial report of the project “Nascentes do Saí”

Continue reading HERE.

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