Coordinated by IT in Aveiro and the University of Aveiro (UA), in collaboration with several other Portuguese and Mozambican institutions, the DOPPLER – DevelOpment of PaloP knowledge in Radioastronomy partnership has received a funding of 300k Euros from the Aga Khan Foundation.

Arising from ENGAGE SKA, the Portuguese node of the Square Killometer Array – SKA project, DOPPLER will promote collaborations between Portuguese and Mozambican institutions in the fields of Astronomy, Earth Observation, and "Big Data", combining international synergetic capacity building projects in Africa and Europe aligned with programs such as SKA, Africa VLBI Network and Copernicus. These include initiatives to promote and strengthen mutual empowerment, particularly in advanced training with impact on biodiversity, food safety, and resource management.

The DOPPLER work plan includes: organizing pedagogical workshops; promoting synergies with the industry; leveraging internships and team visits between Portugal and Mozambique; organizing scientific and technological demonstrations in schools, universities and in the industry. These activities promote the implementation of the recommendations of the parliaments of the European Union and the African Union, which recognize Radio Astronomy as a motor of technological and scientific development with impact in a wide range of sectors.

Together with IT and the UA, the Faculdade de Ciências of the University of Porto (FCUP), the University of Coimbra (UC), the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM, Mozambique) and the Non-Governmental organization Osuwela (Mozambique), are all collaborators in the DOPPLER partnership, also supported by TICE.PT. This is one of the Exact Sciences and Engineering projects to be funded through the first joint FCT-Aga Khan Development Network – AKDN (http://www.akdn.org/where-we-work/europe/portugal) under the Knowledge for Development Initiative.

DOPPLER was presented this February 16 during the first workshop of “AKDN-FCT Collaborative Research Network in Portuguese speaking countries in Africa”, held in Parque da Ciência e Tecnologia of the University of Porto