Editorial

Abstract

The Foundation for Scientific and Technological Development (FUNDECIT), in partnership with the Center for Advanced Studies in Education and Medical Training (CEDUMED) of the Faculty of Medicine of Agostinho Neto University (FMUAN), took the initiative to organize the Workshop on Integrity and Ethics in Scientific Research. The event brought together professionals from various fields with the aim of promoting dialogue on ethical and bioethical issues related to scientific research. These topics were intended to cover different lines of research coexisting in this area, revealing the epistemological heterogeneity in the field of science and technology, leading to interdisciplinary analysis, both theoretical and methodological. The event allowed researchers to reassess their actions and practices within their institutions and scientific projects with ethical and moral implications. As the first event with this focus and with guiding themes for good functioning, academics, researchers, and scientists from various countries such as Angola, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Mozambique, and Portugal were present. The event allowed for an examination of different realities and to verify if the path that the country is following is the most appropriate. Held in a hybrid format (in-person and remote) on March 30 and 31, 2023, at the Epic Sana Hotel, the workshop was aimed at managers of higher education institutions and the entire scientific community in general. The event consisted of two days of lectures and constructive debates between renowned national and foreign guests and participants, where contributions led to reflection on professional teaching practice with an ethical character, aiming to describe the stages of building a scientific project that focuses on addressing the problems and aspirations of the population. Respecting its morality (habits and customs), so that it can be feasible in various dimensions. Along with all these issues, it became clear that each country needs an ethical regulatory instrument to guide research in its territory because international devices cannot cover all the issues inherent in its culture. Hence, in some communications, it was evident that the creation of an entity that would create the same devices and another that would control the investigations carried out (National Ethics Committee and a National Bioethics Advisory Council), with one being deliberative and the other advisory in character. The event also brought to light the need to conform academic and research institutions to the best international practices and recommendations regarding ethical issues in science, technology, and innovation. Without forgetting the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR), which is a significant document for the analysis of scientific research protocols. The results presented point to the importance of paying close attention to double standards of research protocol for clinical trials in developing or peripheral countries. Consequently, the speakers raised the urgent need for South-South cooperation to discuss ethical and bioethical problems in the face of the common reality of peripheral countries. Institutional contexts may be definitive and timely in the analysis of the works published by these researchers. By discussing science, technology, and innovation as a parameter for discussion, which will contribute to the realization of paradigm shifts in this area of socio-discursive production (Ethics and Bioethics), this meeting also allowed for networking among speakers from various national and foreign institutions and event participants.