The Board of Directors of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) approved this Wednesday (26) the draft of the addendum to the Management Contract with the Ministry of Education (MEC), which is expected to be signed this semester.

The document defines the transfer of federal resources for the operation of the ISD in 2021 and the framework of indicators and goals that should guide the Institute's activities during the period.

The meeting in which the terms of the Amendment were voted on and approved was held via videoconference and also included the presentation of expansion plans with clinical research at the Institute, as well as management financial reports and the results of the last two evaluations by the MEC Management Contract Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (CAACG) with the ISD, relating to the years 2019 and 2020. 

The Commission brings together experts linked to universities and other Federal Government bodies qualified in the areas of activity of the ISD and evaluates indicators agreed with the Ministry that involve teaching, research, extension and administrative management. 

Results

Regarding 2019, the Commission concluded that “the ISD presented excellent results, even having faced an unprecedented crisis in its history and that, “each year, the continuous and solid integration between the areas of activity of the Institute is observed, which strengthens the inseparability of the teaching-research-extension trinomial and consolidates the interdisciplinary approach and interprofessional work as bastions of this Institution that is the only one in the country with this profile.” 

Regarding 2020, the Commission's report points out that “the set of actions carried out by the ISD showed that it achieved results that exceeded the expectations of this CAACG, considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent and necessary suspension of in-person activities, both at CEPS and IIN-ELS”, referring to the two ISD units: the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health (Anita) and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS).

Also in the document, the Commission draws attention once again to what it calls “the solidity of the integration built between the areas of activity of the ISD, reflected in the interdisciplinary approach and interprofessional work in pioneering areas in the country”, adding that the Institute responded “with enormous speed to the demands of society and promptly adapted to the adverse context that a totally unpredictable pandemic has brought about, with commendable results”.

Projects

Recommendations from the Commission related to increasing the occupancy of facilities by researchers from different regions of the country are among those detailed at the meeting and, despite budgetary restrictions and the pandemic context, are being implemented at the Institute – with prospects for expanding research and assistance to the population later this year.

“The entire first floor of the building is currently being adapted IIN-ELS for clinical research laboratory. There are 14 more rooms being prepared. This recommendation was already in our scope of action, in our master plan horizon, and even with the current context it is underway”, said the general director, Reginaldo Freitas Júnior.

The Board of Directors 

The Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body of the Santos Dumont Institute and brings together representatives from the MEC and also from other government ministries and entities in areas such as science, education, health and industry.

The meeting was attended by the ISD general director, Reginaldo Freitas Júnior, the administrative director, Jovan Gadioli dos Santos, the unit managers Lilian Lira Lisboa (from Anita) and Edgard Morya (from IIN-ELS) and the administrative coordinator of the Institute, Juliana Dalpra, in addition to 10 of the 12 members of the Council, two of whom were represented by proxy. 

O Administrative Council carries out activities on an unpaid basis and has as full members Miguel Ângelo Laporta Nicolelis (president), Vinicius Nunes Azevedo (Ministry of Health), Amaro Sales de Araujo (National Confederation of Industry – CNI), Fabio Donato Soares Larotonda (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation), Francisco Humberto Vignoli (Getulio Vargas Foundation), Helio Toledo (representative of the members), José Luiz Egydio Setubal (Jose Luiz Egydio Setúbal Foundation – Sabará Hospital), Sergio Henrique da Silva Santos (Ministry of Education), George Dantas de Azevedo, director of the Multicampi School of Medical Sciences at UFRN, nominated to the Council among professionals of notable ability, as well as the consultant Theodoro Paraschiva, the economist Luiz Gonzaga and the doctor and teacher Nildo Alves Batista, who represents the Ministry of Education on the Council and announced this Wednesday that he is leaving the role due to retirement. 

In his farewell speech, he congratulated everyone who, he said, “makes the ISD stand out as it has stood out and as has been proven once again today, as an Institute of teaching, research and assistance, of enormous regional relevance”.

“During this time, I was able to get to know and see the power that the Institute has. Thank you for the opportunity to work with such a powerful group and institution, even during the pandemic,” said the professor. 

The ISD general director thanked him for his contributions and hoped that “this new period of retirement will also be very productive”. 

“May it be a redefinition of your production and what you do. Both the country, Abem (Brazilian Association of Medical Education, which he presides over) and medical education owe a lot to you and need your work. It was an honor for the ISD to have you as an advisor and our word is truly one of gratitude.”