The Dean of Extension and Community Affairs (Preac) will hold the 23st Unicamp Extension Meeting until this Thursday (22). Aiming to stimulate debate about the role of university extension within the institution and its relationship with society, the meeting aims to be a space for reflection and assessment of the different activities carried out at Unicamp. There will also be sharing of experiences involving initiatives carried out by teachers, technical-administrative staff and students. The event opened last Wednesday (XNUMX).
On the occasion, the public present in the auditorium of the Unicamp Convention Center followed the presentation by professor João Frederico da Costa Azevedo Meyer, vice-rector of Extension and Community Affairs at Unicamp. He took stock of the extension activities carried out in recent years by Preac. "The science that is produced here is put at the service of society," he said. João Meyer also highlighted that Preac has a great responsibility in ensuring the implementation of community and cultural development actions, but also ends up collaborating in activities involving teaching and research.
The presence of representatives from other universities involved in extension activities will serve to exchange experiences between the different institutions. "We ended up having a proactive stance of contribution and cooperation at a regional, national and continental level”, highlighted the pro-rector. Professor Rafael Dias, advisor to Preac, said that the university needs to take on a leading role in its relationship with society . In this sense, the extension, according to him, is the privileged space for the institution to adapt to the demands of the community. “The extension needs to be constituted not as a space for the unilateral transfer of knowledge from the university to society, but in a context of dialogue and joint learning.”
To contribute to this debate at Unicamp, round tables “Extension and social relevance of the University” were held with professor Valdemar Sguissardi, from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar); “Integration of extension-research-teaching and interdisciplinary practices”, with professor Vera Cury, from PUC Campinas, and Luiz Carlos Faria, from UFSCar; and “Indicators and evaluation of extension activities”, with the presence of Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita, former vice-rector of university extension at Unesp.
Some Unicamp initiatives are already references for other institutions in this process of exchanging experiences. “An inspiration that Unicamp gave us at the beginning of the administration was the Extension School. Professor João's presentation about the students who attend the Unicamp Extension school are very important and made us create the Unesp Innovation and Extension Course Center, which is starting to show important results", highlights Mariângela Fujita, science teacher of information from the Faculty of Philosophy and Sciences at Unesp, in Marília.
Retired professor Valdemar Sguissardi, from the Department of Education at UFSCar, recalls that the extension was absent from educational legislation until 1988, when article 207 of the new Constitution determined that universities would have autonomy. "Extension has many functions, and it has to exist so that the university does not become elitist. For me, extension has to be mandatory. Because otherwise, it will gradually lose its meaning and function."
The 1st Unicamp Extension Meeting continues this Thursday with work workshops at Casa do Lago. In this activity, proposals for new extension projects will be developed based on the articulation of participants' interests. “The idea of the workshops is to discuss more general topics. And in each of these themes, discussion groups will be created to develop a project where the community can get involved”, explains professor Maria Aparecida Diniz Ehrhardt, Preac advisor. During the meeting, posters about extension projects developed in recent years at Unicamp, and results of work carried out by bodies linked to the pro-rector's office, will be displayed at Casa do Lago.
