Professor Magda Fontana, from the University of Turin, will be at UFMG in August as a guest of the FUNDEP/IEAT Chairs program.  During her visit to UFMG, she will give a conference and participate in thematic seminars.

On August 9th, at 3 pm, in Auditorium 1 of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at UFMG, she will give the Grand Conference Multidisciplinarity, Interdisciplinarity, and Transdisciplinarity: definitions, measurement, and effectiveness (in translation into Portuguese Multidisciplinarity, Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity: definitions, measurement and effectiveness).

The activity will be taught in English, without simultaneous translation. Interested parties can register for free on the UFMG Event Management website. Anyone who registers and signs the attendance list on the day of the event will be entitled to a certificate.

Science has seen an increase in interdomain research (IDR), as scientists from different backgrounds have collaborated to tackle complex questions. This change has been driven by the need to deal with the vast accumulated knowledge, and has the support of development bodies and institutions. Universities, for example, have established interdomain research centers, and there is a growing trend of citations between different fields of knowledge.

Magda Fontana assesses that the growth of IRD is linked to a greater number of applications for grants and patent submissions, promoting stable cooperation networks, which seems to be an optimal response to scientific challenges, allowing researchers to pool expertise. However, she highlights that doubts arise regarding the existence of conflicts between personal interests (career and reputation) and public objectives (solving social problems and sharing knowledge).

“The transition to interdomain academia is underway, but often with the criteria for granting grants and producing assessments focused on specific domains remaining. The dominance of specialized journals and field-specific rankings also presents risks to cross-domain efforts, affecting university rankings, funding, and hiring decisions,” explains Magda Fontana.

The conference will address these questions by suggesting that cross-domain research can manifest itself in diverse forms, requiring thorough measurements and assessments to develop effective research and innovation policies.

Seminars on Interdisciplinarity, Complex Systems and challenges for the future of Brazilian industrial policy

On August 2nd, professor Magda Fontana will teach the Seminar Breaking Down the Disciplinary Divide: the Origins of interdisciplinary Research and its Ongoing Challenges. The activity will take place in room 2094 of the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at UFMG, at 2 pm. The seminar is held in partnership with the Department of Political Sciences of the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at UFMG.

On the 7th, 14th and 28th of August, the UFMG Faculty of Economic Sciences will welcome Magda Fontana to teach Seminars on Economics, Complex Systems and the Santa Fé Institute. The meetings will take place from 3pm to 5pm, in room 3108.

On August 21st, professor Magda Fontana will be at the Federal University of Vales Jequitinhonha and Mucuri (UFVJM), in Diamantina, to participate in the Round Table Challenges of Industrial Policy: reflections and perspectives for Brazil. The activity is part of the 20th Diamantina Seminar, organized by the Center for Development and Regional Planning (Cedeplar) of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at UFMG. The round table will be at the Rodrigo Simões Auditorium (UEMG), at 10:45 am.

Also within the Diamantina Seminar program, on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of August, professor Magda Fontana will be at the International Workshop on Complex Systems and Economic Theory. The meetings will be held from 2pm to 3:30pm at the José Alberto Magno de Carvalho Theater at UFVJM.

Consecrated under the name of Diamantina Seminar, the Seminar on Mining Economy is a traditional Cedeplar initiative that turns 42 years old in 2024. This year, the Seminar will address the theme of Minas Gerais and Brazil in a world undergoing transformations: formation of thought critical to the challenges of the contemporary world. The meetings will take place from August 19th to 24th. For more information and registration, visit the event website.

About the Professorship

Magda Fontana is Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Economics and Statistics “Cognetti de Martiis” at the University of Turin, Italy. She serves as coordinator of the Complex Systems Economics research area at the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy. Currently, she is a European Union Specialist in computational social systems and an evaluator of projects for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) specialized in network analysis.