❖ MARCELO KNOBEL
For the first time in its history, the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) was classified as the best Latin American university in the prestigious ranking of Times Higher Education magazine. The result reflects hard work from all sectors of the university in terms of academic training, the impact of the research carried out, as well as the various extension and service actions in the health area. Another predominant factor is the participation of the productive sector, in which Unicamp has been a protagonist in the Latin American scenario since the creation of the Innovation Agency, almost 15 years ago. A striking example of this action is that today there are more than 430 active companies called “daughters of Unicamp”, generating more than 22 thousand direct jobs and with annual revenues of RS 3 billion, which is equivalent to one and a half times the university's budget. The concern, however, is having enough strength to maintain this position, and the challenges we have to face to advance further.
The three public universities in São Paulo, USP, Unicamp and Unesp, represent an undeniable heritage for the country. Despite being a relatively young system, they are among the best in Latin America, with academic indicators and contributions that justify the effort that society has made to maintain them. Much of these advances are possible thanks to the administrative autonomy granted in the late 1980s by the State government to the three institutions, which accelerated progress towards academic excellence.
After autonomy, all academic indicators showed a significant increase, with emphasis on innovative and socially committed research, the expansion of the area of health care and the qualification of civil servants and teachers. Universities consolidated their institutionalization, improved their collegial decision-making processes and, thus, autonomy with budgetary linkage became an asset to be preserved, as it allows the management of resources according to agreed priorities and previously discussed in the university's strategic planning, in dialogue with the society.
Despite the undeniable success of exercising autonomy, there are problems that need to be debated, because they concern long-term financial sustainability. One of the strongest evidence of these difficulties appears today with the budget crisis that is plaguing the three public universities in São Paulo, but it is not exclusive to them. The economic crisis, with a substantial drop in revenue and resource transfers to universities, associated with increased spending, produced the current worrying scenario. The three institutions have their budgets heavily committed to the payroll. The severity of the budget crisis and the risk of loss of autonomy require even more responsible management with long-term economic sustainability. Today, autonomy is questioned by the media and privatist discourses emerge.
It is essential to respond to these attacks in a forceful manner, improving communication actions to explain the countless benefits resulting from investment in quality public higher education and, at the same time, acting responsibly in managing the budget, to recover financial health. At this time of crisis, the public university must innovate and be an example and inspiration, as society demands a new form of governance from public bodies and the university must be a storehouse of new ideas. This demands more effective partnerships with different sectors of society and all levels of government.
The public university's best defense lies in making autonomous and responsible decisions, with transparency. Decisions with a budgetary impact must be sustainable and give priority to expanding undergraduate and postgraduate places, research qualification, inclusion strategies, improving programs to support student retention, expanding services in the area of health and extension projects, technological innovation and more effective action in the fields of basic education, arts and culture.
To maintain leadership, it is essential not to become complacent. It is important to discuss the contemporary training of our students, with modernization of curricula and innovative strategies in the teaching-learning process, which improve the innovative capacity to solve problems in different scenarios and, therefore, become even more competent for the world of work, in constant transformation. . Furthermore, it is essential that society is represented at the public university and to this end, Unicamp proposes inclusion policies articulated in three axes of action: expanding access, permanence and academic development. We will expand admission opportunities at Unicamp by debating ethnic-racial quota criteria, use of Enem and expansion of the Higher Interdisciplinary Training Program (ProFIS). ProFIS is a two-year general training course, unique in the Brazilian higher education scenario, with consolidated results in terms of regional social inclusion and which allows students from public schools to access university without an entrance exam.
Another important point is the implementation of the Transparency Portal, to present to society not only the benefits that the university offers, but also how resources are invested and decisions made. The defense of the public university must be guided both by the effectiveness in achieving its objectives and by the complete transparency of its actions.
Simultaneous action on all these fronts must be guided by the broader commitment to society, which places trust and hope in the public university. We need to be able to defend and value public, free, quality and autonomous universities, so that they can meet the demands of the academic, scientific, technological, social, artistic and cultural transformations of our day.
❖ DECTOR OF UNICAMP
(O Estado de S. Paulo, A2 - Espaço Aberto - 27/7/2017)
