Unicamp's tradition in scientific research and technology development gave it the status of a Brazilian University with the greatest links with the goods and services production sectors. The institution maintains several hundred contracts for transferring technology or providing technological services to industry. Furthermore, Unicamp has been characterized by maintaining strong links with society through its extension activities and, in particular, its vast health area. Four large hospital units, located on its Campinas campus and beyond, make Unicamp the largest medical and hospital care center in the interior of the State of São Paulo, covering a population of five million people in a region of almost a hundred municipalities . Artistic, cultural and sporting activities open to the public have also contributed to intensifying the connection between the university and its surroundings.