The anticipation capability, forward thinking, and linkage of actions to identified needs differentiate the organizations geared to society and the other, which remain isolated and are more vulnerable. Just before the last century ending in 1999, research groups began meeting in the United States to study interactions between living and artificial systems in an interdisciplinary way with the aim of designing devices that allow to expand or improve cognitive abilities and communication, health and physical capacity of humans and thus produce, in theory, greater social good. These studies gave rise to what was called converging technologies, researched today in depth in Europe, United States, Australia and Japan. The converging technologies are the union of four areas of science and technology which are important to the economy and development of society in general. They are nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology (IT) and neuroscience (or cognitive science). In Brazil, the Centre for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), a social organization under the Ministry of Science and Technology, recognized the importance of these areas in national interests.
In fact, there are many sectors of activity in which the domain of knowledge related to neuroscience and cognition will be highly strategic. The neuroeconomics, for example, is the study of how the mind interacts with the external environment to generate economic behavior. Research in this field will provide a better understanding of the decision-making process of individuals to predict the behavior linked to economic activities. Cognitive Ergonomics is the scientific discipline related to the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, providing theoretical basis to facilitate this interaction. Cognitive ergonomics contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people. Neuromarketing is a new field of neuroscience, where he studies the neurobiological bases of consumer behavior. Generally speaking, this area is considered a key to understanding the consumer logic, it identifies the desires, impulses and motivations of people by studying the neurophysiological reactions facing certain external stimuli. It is also growing and strategic further knowledge in neuroeducation, an interdisciplinary field that combines neuroscience, psychology and education to create better teaching methods and curricula. This area has incorporated recent advances in the study of memory, language and other issues of cognitive neuroscience to develop better teaching and learning strategies. With the exponential increase in the supply of information, teachers want and need to know how their students learn the content taught. Neuroscientists, on the other hand, want to know how these questions may suggest further research in neuroscience. Another approach on neuroeducation is to understand how mental and cognitive disorders can change student learning and how teachers can collaborate with other professionals to help identify problems in the classroom, in order to facilitate the social inclusion of affected students.
Besides attuned to new demands identified in Brazil, scientific research on cognition and neuroscience monitors and fosters global innovation trends. The recent technological development has allowed advances in the understanding of brain operation, enabling the systematic study of mental functions. Observing and interfering in different hierarchical levels, from molecular to behavioral, neuroscience of systems addresses the dynamic interaction between these levels of organization of the nervous system. Thus, the detailed analysis of neural functions from micro domains of a single neuron, using voltage markers and ions by confocal microscopy, to mental activity in humans, by brain imaging techniques, has provided the substitution of paradigms obviously best suited to their historical context. On the other hand, the study of neurodegenerative diseases present in a population with a longer perspective on life, as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, has received enormous contribution by the association of areas such as molecular biology, neuropsychology and bioengineering. Addressing these issues through advanced methods generates results and models which need formal analysis techniques originated in the areas of statistics, mathematics, computing, physics and engineering. For these reasons, the interdisciplinary approach to cognition, more than a standard of achievement, is a necessity in today’s world.
The idea that cognition is a strategic area of knowledge has been present since the formulation of the education program of UFABC. The creation of the postgraduate course in “Neuroscience and Cognition” is closely linked to the existence of cognition area within the CMCC, Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition. However, as the study of cognition essentially interdisciplinary theme, the pedagogical project of UFABC provided for the creation of the Center for Cognition and Complex Systems (NCSC). The NCSC is a thematic unit linked to UFABC’s rectory, formed by teachers of the three centers of our university. The NCSC aims to promote the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge, encouraging quality in education and cutting-edge research in the area of cognition, neuroscience and complex systems. Notably scientific research in this field is a natural stage for interdisciplinary, promoting integration between professors and researchers from various fields of knowledge, such as nanoscience, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and computer modelling, bioengineering and philosophy, going to meeting of the education program of the university. Thus, the NCSC brings together different research groups and promotes cooperation between different centers of UFABC. In addition, as a natural consequence, approximate faculty and undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral students.
The Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Cognition of UFABC is engaged in the training of personnel qualified technical and scientifically to carry out professional activities, teaching, research and production. The program is proposed in the strictu sense modality, with academic master’s and doctoral level courses. The academic master’s course will have a maximum duration of two years, in which it is expected that the student curse disciplines consistent to the chosen research area, develop and defend a dissertation. In our proposal, the candidate to the academic master’s degree is not required to submit a project in the selection process, a fact that will allow greater freedom when it comes to the subject of his dissertation option. The doctoral course will have a maximum duration of four years, in which is expected to carry out scientific research for the preparation of the thesis and fulfillment of disciplines. In both cases (academic master’s degree and in doctoral), the student will be encouraged to have a co-supervisor, preferably in a different area of the supervisor. We have identified at least two advantages to this measure: i) expand the student’s scientific horizon in training; ii) raise the evaluation criteria and the level of research conducted in the program. Ideally, the students will be agents that increase the ties between the nodes of a program that pretend to interdisciplinary. For this, the program will require a small number of credits in compulsory subjects, for preserving the freedom of individual choice and form a common and solid basis for the students. As will be detailed throughout this proposal, the curriculum of the course consists of subjects that are interdisciplinar, and its goal is to promote the training of qualified professionals, capable of knowledge integration in innovative projects. Consistent with this proposal, students can and will be encouraged to fulfill credits attending courses offered by other graduate programs within and outside the UFABC.