Three former Unicamp students take on the positions of advisors at the Unicamp Ventures (UV), a network made up of students, alumni, faculty, staff and entrepreneurs from startups incubated and graduated from the Incamp (Unicamp’s Technology-Based Business Incubator).
Created with the mission of expanding the impact of Unicamp Ventures on the national entrepreneurship ecosystem, the Council is made up of seven members, in addition to the executive president and the president, professor Ana Frattini, executive director of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency.
David Figueira, current executive president of the Board, highlights that the new members will have specific governance roles and will be closer to their daughter companies in 2022. “The idea is that it will be a turning point for Unicamp Ventures. We intend to hold more events, raise more resources and reach more daughter companies,” she says.
The three new councilors, with mandates for the next two years, are:
-Leonardo Gross, student of the master's program in Scientific and Technological Policy at the Geosciences Institute of Unicamp (IG), founder of DigitalHealth.Works and co-founder of Cross Industry Innovation Summit.
"Diversity needs to be an internal strategic agenda in the company, seeking results that go far beyond image gains. There is a lot of talk about diversity and innovation, but how many black men and women occupy leadership positions in these companies? Normally the number is very low. Diversity is something strategic for companies, because it brings competitive advantage, innovation, motivation, well-being and, of course, financial gains”, says Leonardo Gross.
"We need to encourage companies to base their D&I actions on continuous evaluation processes” - Leonardo Gross.
- Marcelo Braga, chemical engineer graduated from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at Unicamp (FEQ), CEO of SEARCH and founder of Reachr.
"I see entrepreneurship as the future of corporate relationships, careers and education. It is a great pleasure to be able to use my experience as a professional in the People area and as an entrepreneur. We want to strengthen relationships between people and companies in the Unicamp ecosystem, expanding business generation and networking”, he highlights.
"What really makes the difference in any business are the people. And education is the way to make people better” - Marcelo Braga.
- Thierry Cintra Marcondes, mechanical engineer graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Unicamp (FEM) and founder of the daughter company Evolve. He was the winner of Unicamp Challenge 2012 and created the movement Silence Empathy, with the aim of raising awareness in society regarding hearing impairment.
"The first big step is to provide opportunities, include people with disabilities in the company, and allow an exchange, knowing how they will position themselves. Afterwards, the work of inspiration will be fundamental to show that it is possible for them to go further. When you innovate with diversity, you end up creating impactful products and solutions. In addition to having a new positioning, you also attract more people to your company”, says Thierry Marcondes.
"I created and follow a methodology that I call '4 is': Includes, Inspires, Innovates and generates Impact” - Thierry Marcondes.
The three new advisors will work on planning and executing connection activities between daughter companies and the innovative ecosystem, especially around Unicamp, with sponsorship prospecting and content curation for events, mentoring in the training and culture programs of the entrepreneurship at the University. Furthermore, they will work to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in Unicamp's entrepreneurial community, helping them to found impactful ventures and take on relevant positions in companies.
Virtual and hybrid events for 2022 are already being planned. In total, there will be five events (webinars and in-person). Think ahead and put the topics that interest you most on your agenda.
If you are interested in sponsoring events and receiving benefits (such as the opportunity for your company to speak at one of the thematic sessions), contact the Inova Unicamp communications team: comunicacaoinova@inova.unicamp.br
Registration is free and will open as the event dates approach, with publicity on the Unicamp Ventures website and social media.
7 April: ESG - Environmental, social and corporate governance.
June 9: Presentation of the new Unicamp Ventures brand.
August 4: Funding for Startups.
October 20th: Annual Meeting.
