The 5th Edition of the Academic Performance Metrics Workshop, held between December 1st and 4th, marked the end of the 1st Update Course "Academic Performance Metrics and International Comparisons" and the delivery of completion certificates to participants. The ceremony was held virtually this Wednesday (2) and was attended by rectors of the three São Paulo State Universities - Unicamp, Unesp and USP -, in addition to the rectors of the Federal Universities of São Paulo (Unifesp) and São Carlos (UFSCar). The event was an opportunity for leaders to exchange ideas and experiences regarding how university rankings and academic productivity indices should be interpreted and used productively in the reality of Brazilian universities. The ceremony was led by Jacques Marcovitch, former dean of USP and senior professor at the University's Faculties of Economics, Administration, Actuarial Accounting (FEA) and the Institute of International Relations (IRI).
In their comments, the deans pointed out that the information provided by the indexes does not reflect, in many cases, both the reality of the Brazilian university system and the differences that exist between areas of knowledge. Marcelo Knobel, rector of Unicamp, commented that some important contributions to society provided by Brazilian universities are not taken into account. "I don't see indicators of participation of universities in Secondary Education, in Elementary Education, there are no indicators that show the strength of universities in the area of health, in which we have a strong presence in Brazil, that show how universities act in extension and culture . In our country, as well as in many places in Latin America, universities are fundamental for cultural promotion and this is not included in conventional indicators", analyzed Knobel, who praised the work carried out by the project in training professionals who can work with these data in a way that suits the particular demands of each university.
Another defense made by the rectors is that the indices also serve to help universities strengthen their commitment to the development of society, especially with their intense participation in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. "I believe that we will arrive in 2022 as a much more socially referenced university, focused on society, on solving society's problems. This year this became much more evident for society, the role we play by referring ourselves to this society and seeking solutions to problems and to social and economic development", said Soraya Smaili, dean of Unifesp. The dean of USP, Vahan Agopyan, reinforced this need: "Metrics do not exist to satisfy us, universities, for what we want. They must satisfy what society considers important, fundamental. Therefore, I believe that this project helps us reflect, define and internalize this information.”
Project to integrate universities
The Workshop and Update Course are part of the Metrics Project, coordinated by professor Jacques Marcovitch with support from the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation. It aims to provide resources so that universities can evaluate their performance and develop joint initiatives aimed at improving research and projects. To this end, it works with studies in scientometrics - an area of science that works with the quantification of scientific progress -, evaluates and monitors university rankings and academic productivity indices and promotes debates and reflections on the best ways for universities to use this information.
The Update Course on the topic included the participation of professionals linked to public and private universities. With 40 hours of workload, it was organized into 9 modules and offered between March and October 2020. All content related to the course and other materials are available on the website metricas.usp.br.
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Measure to know; know to improve
