A rica universidade pública que continua a afundar-se no prestigiado ranking Shanghai

 

https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2023/08/onde-param-as-desaparecidas-explicacoes.html

No dia 15 de Agosto de 2023, altura em que foram conhecidos os resultados do prestigiado ranking Shanghai, o único que contabiliza prémios Nobel, critiquei a universidade Nova de Lisboa, por ter caído para o grupo 601-700, ficando abaixo de universidades de países do 3º mundo. Vide post acessível no link supra. 

Hoje foram divulgados os resultados deste ano do referido ranking e constata-se que o que já era mau pode sempre piorar. A universidade Nova de Lisboa, acaba de cair para o grupo 701-800. Isto significa que a referida universidade aparece abaixo de um número muito maior de universidades de países do terceiro mundo. O que é incompreensível já que se trata de uma das universidades que recebe mais dinheiro dos contribuintes Portugueses. 

É evidente que o péssimo resultado da universidade Nova de Lisboa não responsabiliza de forma igual todos os docentes e investigadores daquela, porque as diferentes áreas científicas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa apresentam diferentes desempenhos, como já se tinha visto no ranking Shanghai por áreas de 2023, vide documento síntese, que mostra bem quais são as áreas científicas que são mais, menos ou mesmo absolutamente nada competitivas https://www.docdroid.net/KfZvpEt/2023-shanghai-ranking-tabela-top-500-pdf informação que também daqui a pouco tempo se confirmará no ranking por áreas de 2024. 

Portugal tem agora apenas três universidades no Top 500 do ranking Shanghai, mas isso só pode admirar a quem anda muito distraído e desconhece o facto dos sucessivos Governos deste país terem andado a cortar verbas ao ensino superior. Revisite-se a este propósito o meu post anterior de 9 de Agosto do ano passado onde aparece escrito que:  "o orçamento universitário de 2023, foi inferior ao de 2010, e se os valores forem analisados em percentagem do PIB, então o resultado é ainda mais vergonhoso, pois constata-se que o valor do orçamento das universidades públicas em 2023 é metade do valor de 2010, vide fig 4.2 na página 63 na publicação de Aguiar-Conraria et al."  https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2023/08/a-deploravel-lista-do-expresso-que.html

PS - Quem hoje está muito contente com os resultados do ranking Shanghai de 2024 são os Franceses da universidade Paris-Saclay, que subiram três lugares e lideram entre as universidades da Europa Continental. Vide artigo no Le Monde https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/08/15/2024-shanghai-ranking-paris-saclay-university-climbs-in-anglophone-dominated-list_6715722_7.html Sobre este resultado vale a pena revisitar um post de 2020 de título "The Economist__Como a França criou uma universidade para competir com o Massachusetts Institute of Technology" https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-economistcomo-franca-criou-uma.html

The Betrayal of Responsibility: Academia’s Blindness and the Shield of Stupidity

OmegaPro has been exposed as a massive Ponzi scheme, primarily centered around forex trading and cryptocurrency, luring investors with promises of returns as high as 300%. This fraudulent operation has impacted millions of people across more than 55 countries.   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65038949

The credibility of OmegaPro was further bolstered by the involvement of over 20 football legends, who participated in various events organized by the company. Renowned former players such as Luís Figo, Ronaldinho, Kaká (pictured above), Iker Casillas, Marco Materazzi, John Terry, Wesley Sneijder, and others lent their star power to these events, unwittingly or otherwise, giving the scheme a veneer of legitimacy. This incident raises a crucial question about the ethical responsibilities of celebrities and public figures. Are they liable for the economic chaos caused by their greedy endorsements, while sitting on fortunes worth hundreds of millions of euros, or can their stupidity shield them from accountability?

The most striking irony emerges with undeniable clarity upon examining the contents of the Scopus database. When one conducts a search using the keyword "Ponzi" within the title, the database returns a scant 200 documents. In stark contrast, a search for the term "fashion" floods the database with an overwhelming 18,262 results. This glaring disparity compels us to confront a significant and troubling question: Does this imbalance suggest that academia exhibits a profound indifference toward financial schemes that wreak havoc on the lives of millions?

PS - This academic disconnection is not a new concern. Years ago, a French historian affiliated with the University of Paris-XIII argued that universities are becoming increasingly insular, fixated on their own academic agendas paying limited attention to pressing public issues. https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-role-of-academia-towards-type-1.html The OmegaPro Ponzi scheme serves as a stark reminder that this detachment can have dire consequences. If universities do not take an active role in addressing and preempting such crises, who will? 

Declaration of competing interests - Back on January 21 i wrote: "Within the contours of this envisioned civilization... football players would inevitably find themselves...relegated to a tier analogous to "monkeys..."

The list of companies that are producing the most highy cited research and patents in Artificial Intelligence-AI

In May, I embarked on a comprehensive comparative analysis of three leading generative AI models, challenging them with the task of identifying the most paramount question of all. One of these models, Scopus AI, responded by listing several influential publications, most notably the groundbreaking paper titled "Attention is All You Need.". https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2024/05/a-comparative-analysis-among-three.html

This paper has had a profound impact on the field of artificial intelligence, not only propelling its authors to substantial financial success but also achieving a remarkable academic milestone: it has garnered over 50,000 citations in just seven years on the Scopus platform. 

Remarkably, just a few days ago, the prestigious journal Nature highlighted the enduring impact of the "Attention is All You Need" paper in an article that explored the realm of highly cited AI research. The article pointed out that the most cited AI publications are overwhelmingly produced by companies based in North America and China. As the accompanying image reveals, European companies are alarmingly trailing behind in this critical domain. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02515-1

PS -  This situation reinforces the relevance of revisiting the insights shared in the earlier post titled "Tech Titans Clash: America vs. China in the Race for Innovation Supremacy" https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2024/06/tech-titans-clash-america-vs-china-in.html