The Science as a Driver for Social Development

Abstract

The presentation of science as a driver of social development is today much more than a desire of science professionals, it is above all an ethical responsibility that Higher Education Institutions assume in their relationship with the community and the business environment. In other words, to speak of social development is to address how the social and economic situation of the world's populations depends to a large extent on the knowledge generated by the creative capacity of science beyond national borders.
Thus, the creative impulse of local universities should be directed towards networking efforts, whether local, regional or global. Networks in which the Instituto Superior Politécnico Atlântida has been engaged, since 2013 in participation and training.
The Scientific Journal Olhar Científico, which we inaugurate today, is the best representation of this effort of scientific and technological development of our institution, counting on the work of an extensive network of Angolan, Portuguese, Brazilian and South African collaborators, allowing the creation of another space for communication and dissemination of the results of scientific research conducted both inside and outside the Instituto Superior Politécnico Atlântida.
It is a consensus that the work of scientific researchers is of public interest, either because the phenomena they investigate arise from everyday public problems, or because the resolution of these problems, helping to improve the quality of life of the same populations also becomes of public interest and of the international community of researchers.
In this inaugural edition of the journal Olhar Científico, the objective was to present the results of research carried out on different realities, with the theme of the contribution of science to the development of societies. Thus, the theme chosen was: "Science as an engine of social development"; this being the line of argument from which the published texts were organised, allowing the division of the contributions into two main axes of discussion:
Axis I deals with the Vision of the researcher in the solution of social problems with the objective of Presenting and discussing scientific proposals for the solution of current social problems, as well as the role of the researcher in Angolan society.
Axis II: addresses the contributions of science to the development of societies, which aims to disseminate scientific research on the Angolan reality and analyse the process of restructuring the system of science, technology and development in Angola (IT&D).