
The promise of greater university-business integration was one of the conclusions that emerged from the I Workshop “Academia and the industrial sector: research, development and innovation” at Unicamp held this Thursday morning (9) in the auditorium of the Faculty of Applied Sciences ( FCA) of Limeira, one of Unicamp’s campuses. Rector José Tadeu Jorge, dean of research Gláucia Pastore, representatives of the industrial sector of Limeira and city leaders were unanimous in reaffirming the need for greater proximity between academia and industries for the technological development of that municipality, with aimed at attracting investment, generating employment and social equity.
Tadeu Jorge said that the idea for the workshop was triggered by two main demands: one point is the search for support for the transfer of the Faculty of Technology (FT) campus to FCA, in order to make better use of space, and another point is the search for a greater relationship with the industrial sector. These demands reached the Rectory through a formal visit by Limeira councilor Valter Barbosa, who was very committed to the task of installing the Limeira campuses.
The rector recalled that university-company integration was an action that was already present in Unicamp's DNA, in the outlines of then rector Zeferino Vaz. So much so that, to describe it, Zeferino met with businesspeople to check what Unicamp's actions should be when choosing courses and directing them in the most appropriate way. “Over 50 years, we have tried to remain faithful to this original project,” he said, who also recalled the University’s vocation for research and innovation. “We have already created more than 500 companies, of which 430 are active. It is one of the lowest 'mortality' rates in the world for these companies. It doesn’t reach 20%,” he revealed.

He highlighted that the university-company relationship is fundamental for students to act professionally and that junior companies have been essential channels for this engagement. “We would like today’s event to be the starting point for the intensification of relations. We have no geographic limits for this and I see that it is a 'win-win' relationship. May this beginning be a catalyst for the industrial growth of Limeira to generate wealth”, he commented.
Pro-Rector Gláucia Pastore, holder of the portfolio of the Pro-Rector of Research at Unicamp, the body that organized the event, opened her speech by describing indicators of scientific production at the State University of Campinas. She stated that the institution is well situated in research and that this is a thermometer that allows it to correct directions and expand horizons and relationships. According to her, the average number of articles published by Unicamp is 12,2 per professor, higher than that of state universities in São Paulo, and also has the greatest impact on bibliographic citations. For this and other reasons that suggest Unicamp's vocation for research, professor Gláucia Pastore believes that companies should look more to the University. “Limeira can greatly favor the development of new research projects, as one of its great assets is the production and use of biomass, without forgetting to look at the creation of new courses”, she emphasized. “I remain at your disposal.”

The executive director of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency Milton Mori explained Inova's operations in detail. He pointed out that Brazil is indeed involved in scientific production and the generation of knowledge, but is still far behind in terms of innovation. “We still haven’t learned how to transform science into business,” he highlighted. "This factor is one of the bottlenecks to be faced. We are already in the fourth industrial revolution and we have lost the bandwagon in the production of machines and equipment. Also regarding the innovation index, measured by Cornell University, Brazil is in 69th place. It is the worst performance in innovation among the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The good news is that Unicamp has 16 courses among the 100 best in the world, according to the QS ranking.”
Mori believes that, in the next ten years, many new companies will be entering Unicamp's technology park and that this could help generate resources for Unicamp itself. “Today we have 44 graduated companies, 19 incubated companies and 434 active companies. There are approximately 22 thousand new jobs created in total and an annual turnover of more than R$3 billion”, he highlighted.
The workshop was attended by representatives from around 50 industries in the region, who also had the chance to clarify doubts and show their expectations – which aim to immediately reinforce greater integration with Unicamp. For the mayor of the municipality of Limeira, Mário Botion, the biggest challenge is professional qualification. In his opinion, advances in this area could greatly contribute to the structuring and installation of a technology park in Limeira.
The undersecretary of higher education of the State of São Paulo, Elisabete Correia, replacing the vice-governor of São Paulo Márcio França, said that the idea is for higher education to be more prominent every day, but recognizes that this must be a continuous work, for plans to be executed. Student Gabriel Lima, representative of Unicamp's junior companies, discussed how impact is generated today in the business sector and said that the institution's junior companies have taken some initiatives to bring businesspeople closer to the University in lectures and other events.

Limeira councilor Vagner Barbosa invited Workshop participants to participate in a solemn session at the Limeira City Council next Monday (13), at 19 pm, to grant the title of Limeira Citizen to the rector of Unicamp, by the relevant services provided to the city. “It is a privilege to hand this title to Professor Tadeu. He is now a Limeirense”, he expressed.
See what other Workshop participants had to say:
Peter Schulz, director of the FCA – There are many possibilities for relationships not dimensioned in the institutional framework. Limeira places great expectations on the industrial sector, largely because of Unicamp - which has two of its units in the city. There is no ready-made formula for bringing the institution closer to companies. There is indeed a lot of goodwill. I believe that our interns are a bridge to make this process viable.
Renato Falcão, associate director of FT – FT helps a lot with professional training, but more and more research needs to be done within the companies themselves. Hire doctors for your companies. Our teaching staff has contributed to the city by helping with solutions. Many companies look for us. We have promoted technology week, career fair, extension courses. We need to improve the issue of internships. Students need internships and companies need interns. This capture is being studied. Entrepreneurs must take advantage of all this potential of one of the best universities in the world [Unicamp].
Paulo Saran, director of the Technical College of Limeira (Cotil) – We offer 600 places per year at Cotil, there are around 4 thousand applicants and we currently have 1.456 students, 44% from Limeira. The majority come from other cities. Now we have approved the review of our certification and we will have a teacher to work on contact with companies, to better serve the market. We have highly capable professionals here occupying management positions. We have agreements with companies in the region and we want to expand them.
Flaminio de Lima Neto, director of Ciesp – There is great difficulty in reaching companies. The academy speaks a different language than the company and both often want the same thing. Let's take a step forward. We need to interact with advertising and marketing people. We need the students. It's a complicated job to show that the industry will benefit from the University's participation, as the businessman doesn't take his eye off the cash register.







