In addition to the awards, at the ceremony, which took place at the Talatona Convention Center, honorable mentions were also awarded. Among the eight categories that covered this first edition is the 'National Career Award' category, whose first place on the podium was awarded to Anabela da Graça Alexandre Leitão, professor at Agostinho Neto University.
For this achievement, the teacher took home a prize of 12 million kwanzas, a trophy and a diploma.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Higher Education, to which VerAngola had access, the podium in this category is completed by Margarete Lopes Teixeira Arrais, doctor and head of the Department of Pulmonology at the Main Military Hospital of the Angolan Armed Forces, and Humberto Manuel Severim de Morais, professor at Agostinho Neto University, who won second and third places, respectively. For this achievement, the doctor received six million kwanzas and a diploma and the teacher received three million kwanzas and a diploma.
In this category, honorable mentions were also given to Domingos da Silva Neto, associate professor at Agostinho Neto University, and Cristina Fernanda Rodrigues, associate professor at Agostinho Neto University.
The podium in the 'National Science Award' category was awarded to Messias António Bumba, professor at the Gregório Semedo University, Humberto Cutesso Matumueni, professor at the Instituto Superior do Soyo, and Honória Susso Chipaca Domingos, research assistant at the National Center for Scientific Research, who won first, second and third place, respectively.
"In addition, honorable mentions were awarded in this category to Fernando Rogério Manuel Ngio, collaborating professor at Universidade Rainha Njinga a Mbandi, Muer Gonçalves, coordinator of CEDUMED at Agostinho Neto University, Dikumbwa Nlandu, full professor at Agostinho Neto University", says the note.
The winners in the 'National Woman Scientist Award' category were Rosa Helena Lutete Geremias, invited assistant professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon (first place), Silvana Manuel Faria, researcher at the National Institute of Fisheries and Marine Research (second place), and Paulina Gomes Gonçalves, research assistant at the National Center for Scientific Research (third place).
Honorable mentions in this category include Anabela da Graça Alexandre Leitão, professor at Agostinho Neto University.
The first place winner in the 'National Innovation Award' category was Dikuelua da Silva Lombo, a student studying International Relations at the University of Belas. Second and third places were awarded to Andriano da Silva Mateus, professor at the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Tecnologias e Ciências, and a group of three students from the IT course at Universidade Agostinho Neto (João Paulo Mateus Manuel, Ana Francisca da Silva Martins and Lela Fiesta Daniel), respectively.
"Honorable mentions were awarded in this category to the following groups, a group composed of Marcolino Chissende Kangajo, Abel António, Augusto Gomes and Zera da Costa Campos Nicolau. Another group composed of students from the Mangume ya Ndefayo University, Valdemiro Venâncio, Evaristo Sitongua and João Zacarias", points out the statement.
The winner of the 'National Invention Award' - a category that had no honorable mentions awarded - was Deba Mathilde Dia Rodrigues, assistant professor of French Language at the Escola Superior Pedagógica do Bengo, followed by Yuri Manuel Francisco Agostinho, professor at the Instituto Superior de Artes from UNILuanda, UNESPAR, UNPA and UNILICUNGO (second place) and Agostinho Chitanda Miguel (third place).
The 'National Young Scientist Award' had the following winners: Eugénio Salessu Vale Clemente, intern assistant at Agostinho Neto University (1st place); Adelino Carlos Handa, intern assistant at the Huíla Polytechnic Institute of the Mandume ya Ndemofayo University (2nd place) and Cruz dos Santos Sebastião, researcher at the Angola Health Research Center INIS (3rd place).
"The honorable mention in this category was awarded to Lissandra Simão, graduate in Chemical Engineering, Hermenegildo Cassoada, coordinator of ICT and Support Telecom Projects, Luanda, António Julião, professor at the Instituto Superior Politécnico Católico de Angola".
Daniel Ukuessunga Benjamin, university professor at the Polytechnic Institute of José Eduardo dos Santos University, was the winner of the 'National Young Innovator Award' category. The second and third places were won by a group composed of three academics (Luciano Muecália, Svetlana Ndhequete and Armindo Gabriel) and Bernadino do Rosário Bambi, a collaborator at ISCED in Huíla, respectively.
The 'National Young Inventor Award' was awarded to Francisco Chilala Marcolino José, student of the Electronic Engineering course at the University of Namibe (1st place); to a group made up of two young people, Esperança Nzambi, professor and collaborator at ITA and URMN, and Francisco Xavier, professor at the Instituto Superior Politécnico do Bengo (2nd place); and Isaú Alfredo Bernado Quissindo, professor at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at José Eduardo dos Santos University (3rd place).
The awards ceremony - whose initiative aimed to "recognize and value the excellent work carried out by researchers, inventors and innovators in the country and abroad and foreigners residing in the country, both active and in retirement" - was opened by the minister of State for the Social Area, Maria do Rosário Bragança.
"This award represents a historic milestone in the Executive's unwavering commitment to progressively increasing investment in scientific research, technological innovation and valuing the creative talent of our citizens," said the minister, adding: "The 2023-2027 Development Plan is particularly ambitious with regard to higher education, the development of scientific and technological research, technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship, because we aim for these areas to be true pillars of the sustainable development of our country".
"This Executive's intention is expressed in a multifaceted way, including ongoing actions upstream of higher education, which contribute to eliminating gender inequality in science and the development of science, with a special focus on secondary education, such as the areas related to science, engineering, technology and mathematics. The rehabilitation and equipping of physics, chemistry and biology laboratories in secondary schools in the country's 18 provinces, as well as the training of technicians and teachers in these schools for the practical teaching of these subjects" were also mentioned by the minister.
On the occasion, the government official, quoted in the note, appealed to young people to "see in science, technology and innovation a true opportunity to fulfill themselves professionally and to contribute decisively to a more prosperous, fairer and more resilient Angola".
"By rewarding our best scientists and inventors today, we are sending an unequivocal message to society: talent, excellence and determination will always be valued and encouraged," she said.
In addition to Maria do Rosário Bragança, the act was also witnessed by the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Albano Ferreira, among other entities.