The State University of Campinas (Unicamp) won the title of best Entrepreneurial University in 2021 general ranking, organized by Brazilian Confederation of Junior Companies (Brazil Junior). The ranking, which is now in its 4th edition, is prepared by the Junior Enterprise Movement (MEJ) with the aim of promoting more entrepreneurial universities. Renato Lopes, associate director of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, represented Unicamp at the awards ceremony, held in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, in Brasília, last Wednesday, December 8.
In previous editions, Unicamp had won second and third places; this year, it stood out in the Innovation and Financial Capital categories and achieved, for the first time, the title the best in Brazil. For the University to be considered entrepreneurial, it must be part of a proactive ecosystem, proving the academic community's ability to take risks and solve problems, considering opportunities for learning and technological improvement.
"It is a great honor to receive this recognition on behalf of the entire Unicamp community, for our decades of encouraging entrepreneurship at the university. Entrepreneurship is a very important way of making knowledge reach society, and this in different ways, from creating jobs to generating new technologies”, celebrates Lopes.
The ranking scores the participating Universities on six axes: Entrepreneurial Culture, Innovation, Extension, Infrastructure, Internationalization and Financial Capital. This mapping is done from three sources: a perception survey, shared with students and recent graduates from universities, collection of information through secondary databases and analysis of data provided by participating universities. This year, 126 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were ranked. Watch the solemn awards session at this link.
Best Public University in the State Award
In addition to taking first place in the 2021 Entrepreneurial Universities ranking, Unicamp also received the title of best University in the State of São Paulo during the Entrepreneurial Education Award event, promoted on November 30th, at the Sebrae-SP Business School. At the awards ceremony, Renato Lopes was accompanied by Marina Luciana da Silva, contracts coordinator at Inova Unicamp.
The São Paulo Federation of Junior Companies (Fejesp) organizes the award as a way of giving visibility to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) involved with the Junior Enterprise Movement (MEJ), and to those that participated in the 2021 Ranking of Entrepreneurial Universities.
Currently, Unicamp has 23 Junior Companies (EJs), established in two of its three fields (Campinas and Limeira). In 2021, Unicamp Junior Companies carried out 631 projects and services, with total revenue of R$1.203.198,45. Unicamp's EJs are part of the Campinas Center (NuCa), an association that supports the Junior Enterprise Movement of Campinas and Region.
Inova Unicamp’s activities
The joint action of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency and the University's Junior Companies has favored Unicamp's entrepreneurial culture for years. However, in the last two years, the Agency has brought together EJs with a focus on technological development that can be protected through intellectual property, and on regulating the use of Unicamp's space and structure.
The process, conducted in partnership with the Dean of Extension and Culture (ProEC) and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG), led to the approval of a new Deliberation, in force since November 2020, which marks Unicamp's relationship with the MEJ. This is an unprecedented initiative at Unicamp, covering issues of common interest to Junior Companies and the University, such as the possibility of generating Intellectual Property with the protection of Inova, the concrete scenario for the creation of new EJs, the regulation of the role of the teacher supervisor and the use of space and structure at Unicamp, in addition to solid information for the evaluation of the Junior Company. Check out the full regulations here.
The contracts coordinator, Marina Luciana da Silva, draws attention to the monitoring carried out by Inova, through bimonthly meetings with the EJs. Marina adds that mentoring will also be carried out with the University's 23 Junior Companies, at the beginning of 2022, on Intellectual Property.
"We want Junior Companies and responsible teachers to know the applications of the new Deliberation, mainly with regard to Intellectual Property, so that, in the service provision process, and in the possible development of a product or tool with potential for innovation, the EJ and the responsible teacher know how to contact Inova appropriately”, explains Marina.
Junior companies
Junior Companies (EJs) are non-profit entities, formed by undergraduate students. They are part of one of the pillars of the public university: extension. The companies provide services to small and micro-entrepreneurs in the region, helping to strengthen these enterprises and promote entrepreneurship among undergraduate students.
Original article published on the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency website.
Listen to Repórter Unicamp on the topic produced by Rádio Unicamp.
