Chile’s new science ministry brings hope to the nation’s researchers

Chile will finally have its own science ministry under a proposal just approved by the government. The nation’s research community is hopeful that this will help address the poor career prospects and working conditions that drove Chilean scientists to publicly protest a few years ago.

Despite general agreement that the new Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation will raise the profile of science in Chile, uncertainty remains about its future budget and director. ‘After years of scientists proposing this … to the country and to its different governments, and years of discussion in Congress, Chile will be the sixth country in Latin America to have a science ministry,’ states Eduardo Pereira, the national president of the Chilean Chemical Society and dean of chemical sciences at the University of Concepción. ‘The existence of a ministry of science will allow the creation of policies to promote science, technology and innovation with a longer-term country perspective … in a more coordinated way.’ In addition, he suggests that science in Chile will become more decentralised with the creation of at least five sub secretaries in the new ministry that will cover different regions of the country.