Times Higher Education ranking highlights the University's relationship with the business sector
Just over 50 years after its foundation, Unicamp (Universidade Estadual de Campinas) reached the top of the ranking among universities in Latin America, analyzed by THE (Times Higher Education), thanks mainly to one indicator: innovation.
Aligned with the demands of the productive sector since its foundation in 1966, precisely through the concept of university conceived by its first rector, professor Zeferino Vaz, Unicamp has accumulated significant achievements in this area in its trajectory, which not only make it a reference on the national and internationally, as demonstrated by the efficiency of its innovation and entrepreneurship policies.
According to Times Higher Education, this criterion analyzes the university's ability to assist industry with innovations, inventions and consultancy. The knowledge transfer indicator considers how much companies are willing to pay for research and the university's ability to attract financing in the market.
In an interview with Unicamp, Ellie Bothwell, from Times Higher Education, stated that an increase in per capita investments made by the industry was observed at Unicamp. “The country's universities are struggling due to the economic crisis, but Brazil still has the highest level of national investment in research and development (R&D) in the region, which is why it is the most represented country in the rankings,” she states. Remembering that, in this edition, 18 Brazilian universities are among the top 50 in the ranking. The previous year, there were 23.
In the case of Unicamp, in 2016 alone, agreements worth around R$59,6 million were signed in partnerships with companies focused on R&D. The value is more than double compared to 2015, which was R$26 million, according to data from the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency.
In the opinion of the Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation at MCTIC (Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications), Álvaro Prata, the good performance of the University is linked to the fact that Unicamp is dynamic, capable of combining “teaching and research very well ”. “It is an institution open to society and that encourages relations between the academic world and the industrial sector”, he states.
For the rector of Unicamp, Professor Marcelo Knobel, the fact that the University was born with this DNA linked to technology allowed Unicamp to build this good relationship with the productive sector from the beginning. An example of this, according to Knobel, was the university's participation in the 1970s in the development of telecommunications in Brazil. “The impacts of this interaction with the business sector are very positive, because they go beyond research. This results in new technologies, which generate benefits for society. And it also allows the training of more qualified human resources”, he assesses.
For the professor at the DPCT (Department of Scientific and Technological Policy) at Unicamp and Deputy Coordinator of Research for Innovation at Fapesp (São Paulo State Research Support Foundation), Sérgio Queiroz, the work that the University has done to disseminate its activities related to innovation place it as a reference in the area. “Unicamp is, of the three universities in São Paulo, the one that has the most collaborative research activities with companies. And, possibly, there is also national leadership on this issue”, he assesses.
To give an overview of this work, Unicamp is responsible for more than 75% of all R&D produced in the administrative region of Campinas – which includes 90 municipalities. However, it is proven that Unicamp's impact goes beyond the limits of these cities, as the University has partnerships with companies from other States and even other countries.
The following are part of Unicamp's list of industrial partners: Samsung, IBM, Lenovo, Ambev, Motorola, Ericsson, Brasil Kirin, Repsol Sinopec, CPFL Energia, Sagitta, Vale, Petrobras, SickKids Foundation, Sugar Research Australia, MMV (Medicines for Malaria Venture ), The Scripps Research Institute, among others. Some of these companies even have research laboratories within the university's Scientific and Technological Park, located on the Campinas campus.
The soul of the business
Certain that the relationship with the business sector requires a relationship of trust and awareness of the disparities between these two worlds – the academic and the market –, Unicamp, through its Innovation Agency, integrates committees, forums and other networks linked to innovation, which keeps it in constant contact with managers in the innovation area and aligned with the demands of companies.
“Unicamp has been following with priority the pillars of its genesis: quality education, scientific avant-garde and support for the development of industry. A trainer of qualified professionals, Unicamp is present in the activities of countless companies, which generate wealth and boost the Brazilian economy”, highlights Humberto Luiz de Rodrigues Pereira, president of Anpei (National Association for Research and Development of Innovative Companies) and vice-president of Engineering and Technology at Embraer.
Proof of this is the long-standing partnership that the State University of Campinas has with the company Cargill, which began with a research agreement, resulted in a patent and, later, in the licensing of this technology that is already on the market today, thus completing the innovation cycle. “Unicamp has a great relationship with the business sector, which has been improving over time. We see more pragmatism in academia's involvement with the private sector, in order to transform scientific research into concrete opportunities for developing and launching new products, improving production processes, among others”, confirms Cargill's technical director, Marcos Guirardello.
Unicamp versus Brazilian performance
At the same time that Unicamp leads the ranking among higher education institutions in Latin America, Brazil's performance in terms of innovation compared to the countries of other universities analyzed in THE Ranking is not sustainable.
Brazil currently occupies 69th place in the Global Innovation Index – organized by Cornell University, INSEAD and Wipo (World Intellectual Property Organization) –, which analyzes 127 economies.
If compared to the Latin American university countries analyzed in THE Ranking – only Venezuela is not included in the Global Innovation Index survey –, Brazil is ahead only of Argentina (76th) and Ecuador (92nd).
Chile (46th) – whose Pontifical Catholic University occupies 3rd place in THE Ranking, right after the University of São Paulo –, Costa Rica (53rd), Mexico (58th) and Colombia (65th) are in better positions than the Brazil in the Global Innovation Index.
For the purpose of comparison between emerging economies, if the magnifying glass falls on the Brics – formed by Brazil (69th), Russia (45th), India (60th), China (22nd) and South Africa (57th) – Brazil presents the worst performance in the Global Innovation Index.
Faced with numbers below expectations for the host country of the best university in Latin America and the economic crisis that is plaguing the country, news has increased concern about innovation in Brazil even more: the budget reductions imposed by the Federal Government, which meant MCTIC received a 44% cut in this year's budget.
“It’s something worrying. Due to the economic, political and ethical crisis that we are experiencing today, it is something that scares us and that will certainly have an impact on the future, on the issue of innovation, research, and other actions. This scenario becomes even more alarming given the financial crisis that the university is experiencing, which requires us to create creative alternatives to maintain our actions and programs, in a very careful way, so that when the crisis passes, we can emerge stronger and be able to get back on our feet again. ”, highlights the rector of Unicamp, professor Marcelo Knobel.
“The cut in the MCTIC budget was very high and at this moment there is great concern on the part of Minister Kassab about rebuilding our budget. We must consider that this is a circumstantial situation and that it will be resolved”, guarantees the Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation at MCTIC.
The concern of the Brazilian scientific community is the irreversible effects of this reduction, as it could mean the discontinuity of research and innovation activities.
“Brazil invests around 1,2% of its GDP in R&D. This is not enough and we need to raise this rate to at least 2%. The aspect to be highlighted is that, when we separate the investment that comes from the public and private sectors, we see that investment by the Brazilian public sector is not low compared to the investment made by the public sector in countries that are technological references for us, among which South Korea, Sweden and Germany. We do need to make public sector investment leverage more private sector investment. The Brazilian private sector invests little in R&D”, says the Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation at MCTIC.
Even though this is the Brazilian reality, the scenario described by Secretary Álvaro Prata, however, does not fit the State of São Paulo, according to data from Fapesp. With 74 thousand researchers, the São Paulo Science and Technology system has 62 entities with a mission oriented towards research activities, in addition to 14.787 companies that carry out innovation activities. In 2015, R$27,4 billion were invested in R&D in the State – 57,2% coming from companies, 22,7% from the State Government, 17,7% from the Federal Government and 2,4% from Private Higher Education Institutions .
Anyone who thinks that research and innovation activities are a strategy only for large companies is mistaken. In 2016, the year in which Fapesp broke a record in the number of projects approved in the Pipe Program (Innovative Research in Small Business), 233 projects were supported, which is equivalent to 0,92 projects per working day. The total was 69% higher than in 2015.
The companies that submitted projects come from 130 municipalities. Just after the capital, which leads the ranking, Campinas is the second city in the State with the most Pipe projects included. In Fapesp's view, this is directly related to the city's university center of excellence. “This is certainly related. All the cities that have many Pipe projects are also cities with good universities, training highly qualified human resources”, highlights Queiroz.
Successful partnership
One of the most successful relationships with the business sector that Unicamp has today is with the company Cargill. The story began in 2007, when the company signed the first research agreement with the University, which resulted in the development of a low trans technology, to be used in the food industry and which generated a patent. The research activities took place in the Oils and Fats laboratory at FEA (Faculty of Food Engineering), under the command of researcher Renato Grimaldi and professor Lireny Gonçalves.
“As differences observed at the University, we highlight its deep scientific knowledge, the technical quality of the researchers and the behavior of the people with whom we interact. The discussions are frank, open and always aimed at strengthening relationships between the parties and the search for new opportunities to work together”, highlights Cargill's technical director, Marcos Guirardello.
The interaction between the company and the university was so successful that, in 2012, Cargill was back at Unicamp, to jointly develop an innovative solution to meet a new requirement from Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency). The agency's resolution, from that moment on, provided for a greater requirement to use the claim of reduced saturate content and Zero Trans on product labels.
The focus of the Unicamp-Cargill partnership was then on developing a new technology that had low levels of trans and saturates, and that offered the industry the possibility of offering launches to the market that met the requirements.
From then on, bench tests, pilot scale production, application in final products and evaluation took place until the work was successfully completed. The solution, which is called Lévia+e, is part of Cargill's line of healthy oils and fats and has a patent co-owned by Cargill and Unicamp, which is licensed to the company.
Lévia+e brought to the Brazilian market the first solution with low saturates without losing performance, regarding the structure and flavor of the food. The consistency and texture of the solution are ideal for application in fillings for cookies, cakes and ice creams.
“We evaluate the partnership as a great success story, both from a business perspective and from the relationship between professionals on both sides, and in support of research. We have several successful projects carried out in conjunction with the University and we also have a great network, involving professors and researchers, support for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and talent development”, comments Guirardello.
On the University side, FEA researcher Renato Grilmadi highlights the gains from direct contact with industrial processes and the dynamics of the business world. “They are very distant universes. Therefore, this relationship is an exchange of experiences for both sides. Knowing the process, the equipment they have, understanding how things happen within the company, is knowledge that is not in books and makes all the difference to training. This partnership is so good that whenever we need something, whether it's even a sample for study, they respond promptly. This demonstrates trust and strengthening these ties for future partnerships”, highlights Grimaldi.
According to the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, the university ended 2016 with 87 licensing contracts in force. In terms of number of technologies, of the 1.042 patents that make up Unicamp's portfolio, 133 are on the market – this means 12,7% of the total. In 2016 alone, 23 intellectual property licenses were signed, compared to 15 in 2015.
“Unicamp has an extensive and diverse portfolio of partnerships with companies. This differentiates us given the multiplicity of sectors we work with and the collaboration formats. We know that we can further expand our contribution to society and also to our University. We are working towards this”, stated the executive director of Inova Unicamp, Newton Frateschi.
Undertaking to innovate
In addition to the companies that seek out the University for partnerships, Unicamp stands out in Brazil due to the entrepreneurial ecosystem that was formed around the university. The so-called daughter companies of Unicamp – those whose founding partners or current partners are students, former students, former teachers or people with ties to the university – form a strong network of entrepreneurs.
The Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency database has 514 registered daughter companies. Of this total, 434 of them are active on the market and another 28 have been sold. The daughter companies are responsible for employing 21.995 employees. And the annual revenue of these companies, if added together, exceeds R$3 billion each.
The predominant area of activity is Information Technology (37,8%). Next are: Consulting (27,9%), Engineering (18,7%), Education (9,7%) and Human Health and Well-being (7,6%).
<>Of all daughter companies, 19,59% operate internationally. If segmented by size, 100% of large daughter companies, 75% of medium-large companies and 59% of medium-sized ones have activities abroad.
Movile, the company responsible for applications such as iFood and PlayKids, is one of Unicamp's daughter companies and is an example for its operations in the international market. Created in 1998, the company today has 1.600 employees, in 15 offices around the world, and is tipped to be the first Brazilian “unicorn” – a startup that reaches around US$1 billion in market value.
But to reach this level, the planning started way back. The dream – now realized – of becoming an entrepreneur arose even before Fabrício Bloisi, CEO of Movile, started his undergraduate studies. And the choice of the University was decisive in this sense. According to Bloisi, it was always clear in his head that “being in the best places would make a difference”.
And that was what motivated him to leave Salvador and come to study at Unicamp. “I loved seeing Unicamp's philosophy, the entrance exam that encouraged people to think critically, the focus on integrating the various areas of knowledge, the emphasis on technology, the balance between people and knowledge. For me, Unicamp was already the best university in Brazil 20 years ago,” he says.
Like Bloisi, other students decided to follow the path of entrepreneurship. According to a survey of graduates carried out in 2016 by Inova Unicamp, it is estimated that 6 thousand former students of the university became entrepreneurs.
As this ecosystem grew, initiatives at the university also emerged to meet this demand. In 2001, Incamp (Unicamp's Technology-Based Business Incubator) was created. Since then, the incubator has graduated 44 companies and, today, there are 17 in the incubation process, preparing to enter the market.
In 2011, the Unicamp Technological Innovation Challenge was created, a business model competition for university patents and software. Since its inception, five startups have been created based on business models developed in the competition. Rubian Extratos is an example of this. In 2015, the company licensed a technology that consists of a process for extracting and concentrating tocotrienols from annatto seeds, developed by professor Maria Ângela Meirelles, from the Faculty of Food Engineering at Unicamp and who was the team's academic mentor during the competition. Currently, the company is in the incubation process at Incamp.
"Entrepreneurship within the Unicamp ecosystem means being recognized for participating in an environment with the highest level of stimulation and support for entrepreneurship. In the case of the Unicamp Challenge, the competition opens up opportunities for individuals with different profiles. I started my entrepreneurial career after 36 years of experience in corporations. At the time I met young people eager to undertake. Thanks to the model developed, we started our startup and continue in a new environment, full of energy, collaborative, with many challenges, learning and with many plans for success”, reports Rubian Extratos partner, Eduardo Aledo.
The experience with the Unicamp Challenge was so successful that, in 2014, it was time to think about an entrepreneurship competition for technical schools and regular high schools. The Inova Jovem Program was born there.
Other initiatives are highlighted within the university, such as the Entrepreneurial League and the Unicamp Junior Business Center. Fabrício Bloisi, in fact, as soon as he joined Unicamp, also decided to participate in the Junior Computing Company. It was four years at Conpec (Consulting, Projects and Computer Studies).
“I believe that what sets Unicamp apart is technical excellence, with a balance between research, market, people, junior companies and different areas of knowledge. For the beginning of Movile, this was fundamental, because at the same time as I studied computing, I had experience with junior companies, with the market, with customers, with leadership. These were the basis for the creation of Movile”, he concludes.
