FAPESP and IBM will support advances in artificial intelligence

FAPESP and IBM Brasil formalized an agreement at the end of December that will result in the formation of a new Engineering Research Center (CPE), one of the Foundation's programs to support research collaboration between universities, institutes and companies.
 
Called the Center for Artificial Intelligence – an area of computing that seeks to solve problems more quickly and easily, in a similar way to the human brain –, the first action will be to launch a call for proposals in the first week of February for groups of researchers in universities and research institutes can submit projects and, if approved, become IBM's academic partners.
 
“It could be a group from a university or research institute or a consortium of several groups from these various institutions not necessarily in the same city,” said Luiz Nunes de Oliveira, deputy coordinator of FAPESP's scientific board for Special Programs and Research Collaborations.
 
“The intention of the CPEs is to carry out fundamental research and transform knowledge for the partner company or for others, in addition to having an educational function”, said Nunes de Oliveira. “The presence of a company linked to the university environment or a research institute makes new research topics appear, new problems that generate the need to break paradigms and this makes science advance.”
 
The artificial intelligence theme was chosen because it has relevance all over the world. IBM has several centers working on this topic in different countries. It is also the intention of the new CPE, with the results of the research to be carried out, to help the process of modernization of Brazilian industry within the new concept of advanced manufacturing that is related to artificial intelligence. The health area is another area that can benefit, with the possibility of faster and more accurate diagnoses of diseases.
 
FAPESP's Engineering Research Centers have a duration of five years, which can be extended for another five years. The center with IBM will have funding of US$ 1 million per year, with US$ 500 thousand from the company and US$ 500 thousand from FAPESP. Currently, eight CPEs are graduated or in training.
 
“Universities and research institutes that join the center grant an increase in this value. If we consider that FAPESP invests R$ 1, IBM plus R$ 1, the other institutions contribute with laboratories, professors, technicians, administrators to manage the center, which represent the addition of more R$ 2 in accounting”, said Nunes de Oliveira.