In this years’ last issue, we take hold of our activities, regarding what was published, what to expect in 2013, even though these days are not particularly favorable to predictions.

2012 was a year of strong economic recession, which greatly affected the public university and the academic activities, teaching and research. Today, the academic community and even our country and the Government face challenges that must be answered in the near future with the involvement and commitment they require.

Of these, we believe there are two which stand out:
First, the problem of the budget currently allocated to public universities, which may jeopardize its functioning as an institution of public education. We are all called to take a position on the issue.

There is, moreover, the challenge posed by the merger of two of the largest public universities in the country, the University of Lisbon (Universidade de Lisboa) and the Technical University of Lisbon (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa). Their future will certainly require joint efforts on behalf of the common good, so that  legitimate hopes and expectations of all those who learn, teach, work and produce science and knowledge in both the UL and UTL will not be dashed.

The year 2012 was also marked by achievements which are the culmination of many years of work, as is the case of the Biobank-IMM, which is the subject of our News Report / Profile section.

There is also news of the Allocation of the Medal of Honor of the UL to Doctor Márcio de Castro Silva, the first Research Day, which was held on December 12, and the 11th BAD (Portuguese Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists) Congress. We return also to tell you about Open Access. This is a growing movement, and the academic communities all over the world are slowly taking part in it. If you are not yet familiar with Open Access, this can be a good point to start. The future of scientific publishing will increasingly be available in an Open Access policy. It has been decreed, elsewhere, that all research paid for by taxpayers’ money must be openly accessible to all.

On a final note related to our work, we believe that in 2012 we have been able to reach our goals, having given our readers an opportunity to take a closer look at the FMUL, namely in our News Report / Profile section, with detailed information about the many university clinics where he best of our teaching and clinical practice takes place.

In the future, we would like to effectively make our Newsletter a tool capable of bringing us all closer to each other in such a wide academic community.

The Editorial Team wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Editorial Note
news@fm.ul.pt