INDUSTRY

Aligned with the Government’s “TI Maior” Strategy, Agreement Supports Research in Energy, Transportation, Education, Software Activities and Plans for Integration of up to 300 Researchers in Intel’s Laboratory Network

Intel Brazil, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Ministry of Education today announced plans to collaborate in research and development for Information Communication Technology in areas of national interest.

The plan includes direct investments and is aligned with the Federal Government's Strategic Plan for Software and IT Services, the TI Maior (Bigger IT), which aims to attract global centers of research and development to the country. The agreement aims to expand Intel and the Federal Government's activities in research, development, software and local innovation in partnership with entrepreneurs, universities and research centers in Brazil. The initiative amounts to an investment of R$ 300 million from Intel in Brazil.

Energy, Transportation, and Education will be the priority segments for the research projects. Intel's Software and Services Group expects to hire up to 80 engineers in the country over the next five years looking to support the 70,000 local software companies and 400,000 local software developers.

National and Global Challenge
"The joint efforts we are announcing today create exciting opportunities to develop cutting-edge technology that will create breakthrough innovations in energy, transportation, education and software development and explore new growth markets. We look forward to this new partnership between Intel and Brazil and the opportunity to position Brazil as a global center of IT innovation," said Justin Rattner, Intel's Chief Technology Officer."

The expectation is up to 300 researchers in the country will be connected to the Intel global research network, investigating issues related to cutting-edge technology. The work will be developed through research cells located in various centers of excellence across the country, connected to Intel Labs within a structure known as the "Intel Strategic Research Alliance."

Earlier, Intel Labs established the Intel Strategic Research Alliance (ISRA) in Brazil, focused on research for pre-silicon hardware validation with UNICAMP. Intel is now broadening the program with other partner universities, with work focused on the development of system-on-chip (SoC) security and encryption solutions in low-energy consumption environments. Five projects were selected from researchers presented by seven universities: UNICAMP, USP, UNB, UFMG, PUC-PR, UFPR and UTFPR.

Innovative Initiatives
These initiatives range from local development of reference designs to specific solutions for problems and needs of the country in the selected areas and even expansion and evolution of the Brazilian ecosystem in these segments.

Within the priority areas, the projects include:

• Education ‐ Enable greater educational efficiency through the development of holistic solutions designed especially for Brazil through collaboration with research institutes, teachers and the local ecosystem.
• Energy ‐ Cutting-edge research to create new simulation and visualization solutions built specifically for exploration of the oil and gas pre-salt layer by Intel researchers specializing in state-of-the-art, high-performance computing.
• Transportation ‐ Joint development of solutions based on advanced technologies in machine-machine interface to increase efficiency in the management of passenger and cargo traffic. Technology transfer to foster the local ecosystem and enable local manufacturing for domestic companies is also planned.

Software Initiatives
Intel has also significantly expanded its activities in the area of software and services in the country, through direct investment and local hires as well as through projects with companies and universities. The company plans to hire about 80 software engineers in the country in the next five years, to offer support and local software developers, creating access to Intel programs for more than 70,000 companies and 400,000 software developers in Brazil.

Through its incentive and community programs, Intel strives to leverage the production of locally developed software solutions, particularly in areas such as gaming, mobility, cloud computing and new platforms such as the Ultrabook, a new category of mobile devices inspired by Intel, as well as tablets and smartphones.

Intel will also collaborate with Brazilian universities for the revamping of curricula for courses in computer science and software development, as well providing academic researchers and laboratories access to supercomputing.

"This agreement marks the beginning of a new phase for Intel Brazil, where we assume a direct role in stimulating innovation for sustainable growth of the country," said Fernando Martins, president of Intel Brazil. "In the next five years we hope to contribute a great deal through training of professionals through research and development in conjunction with Brazilian universities and national companies."