Students and researchers have until October 15 to register for the Young Scientists Award, which this year has the theme “Communication and Digital Inclusion.” The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) resumed the award last year, after its discontinuation in 2019, and is an initiative of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), in partnership with the Roberto Marinho Foundation (FRM). , and is supported by Editora Globo and Canal Futura as media partners. This year also sees Shell enter as a sponsor.

The aim of the award is to encourage young researchers to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by the connected digital world. Projects must address everything from the use of artificial intelligence to issues of public health, education, and sustainability, to philosophical debates about ethics in the age of virtual reality.

Registration can be done on the website youngcientista.cnpq.brPrizes include laptops and CNPq grants and range in value from R$12,000 to R$40,000. Throughout its history, the Young Scientists Prize has awarded 194 researchers and 21 educational institutions.

For CNPq President Ricardo Galvão, “The Young Scientists Award makes a very important contribution to Brazilian science by bringing scientific thinking to girls and boys while they are still in school and encouraging young people at the beginning of their careers as well.” “Always with topics relevant to the country, the Prize has, over more than 40 years, contributed to the discovery and dissemination of innovative research on key issues of Brazilian society such as the theme of this 30th edition, Communication, Digitalization and Inclusion,” he highlights.

In the category “Masters and PhD” and “Higher Education Student” the research lines are:

Alternative technologies for Internet access and digital inclusion to promote digital citizenship;

Teaching discrete computing and digital education;

Training, knowledge, digital skills, communication and diversity;

Digital ethics, e-government, digital governance, digital green;

Usability, digital literacy for older adults, and universal accessibility strategies;

Assistive technologies in education and communication for students and teachers;

Digital inclusion in IoT, infrastructure and equipment;

Scientific publishing, promotion and educational technologies;

precision medicine and artificial intelligence;

telehealth, digital health, artificial intelligence, and telemedicine;

Digital inclusion, intersectionality, and issues of race/color, gender, and sexual orientation in the digital world; and

Women in digital, gender equality and digital inclusion with equity.

In the category “High School Student” the lines are:

Education and new forms of teaching and learning using digital technologies;

Sustainability and communication in favor of natural resource conservation and social justice;

Ethics in the age of artificial intelligence and the multiverse;

Inclusion and democracy using new technologies and alternatives to make them accessible to all; and

Digital training, knowledge and skills for a constantly transforming connected and digital world;

The Young Scientists Award was established in 1981 by CNPq, in partnership with FRM and private companies, with the aim of uncovering talent, promoting research in the country and investing in students and young researchers seeking innovative solutions to society's challenges. The award is considered one of the most important awards for young Brazilian scientists, presenting in each cycle a topic important for scientific and technological development, which meets public policies in the field and is relevant to Brazilian society.

Check all the details and register by October 15th at CNPq.

With information from CNPq.