The rector of Unicamp, Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, and the general coordinator of the University, Maria Luiza Moretti, participated this Wednesday (6) in an event organized by the City Hall, in which Campinas' innovation ecosystem was presented to the secretary of Economic Development of the State of São Paulo, Zeina Latif. For the rector, the Campinas region is capable of becoming a model innovation hub for the country.
Organized by the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development, Technology and Innovation, the meeting brought together representatives from the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), the Center for Research and Development in Telecommunications (CPqD) and Embrapa; from the institutes Renato Archer, Eldorado, Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (IAC), Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos (Ital) and the Innovation Agency Inova Unicamp, as well as companies and private sector organizations linked to the area of technology and innovation and members of the Campinas Inovadora Forum, among others.
“It is encouraging to see the strength of these actors who represent important institutions of science, research, technology and the corporate world united around a goal: transforming Campinas into a model of innovation, training people and generating science and technology”, said the rector . “Today we have a wonderful opportunity, not just for the city and region, but for the country. More than ever, it has become clear how important it is for us to recover space in strengthening technology-based industry and in the development of a new industrialization based in innovation”, said Meirelles.
The rector recalled Unicamp's tradition in innovative research, but also in its relationship with companies. “We have around 20 large projects underway, most of them shared by Fapesp-company, but some exclusively with large companies”.
There is, for example, an artificial intelligence project involving IBM, a well-being program in partnership with Samsung and initiatives in the energy transition sector with CPFL. Furthermore, the dean announced that he intends to take advantage of the International Hub for Sustainable Development (HIDS) project, in the process of being installed at Unicamp, to implement an innovation in the area of health.
“In the health area, there are 15% of the teaching staff and 20% of the Unicamp budget. It is possible to innovate not only in the sense of assistance, but to bring together pharmaceutical companies, equipment technology, hospital logistics, artificial intelligence, bringing innovation to society”, he said. "It's a challenge. We want a major project in this area within Unicamp’s HIDS,” he stated. (Read more about HIDS below)
Partner city
According to Mayor Dário Saadi, Campinas wants to be a partner city with the private sector. “Our channel is open to technology companies,” he said. “Currently, Campinas is one of the ten most important cities in Brazil. We have to be partners with technology companies and industries, so that they can advance in research and development.”
The city's municipal secretary of Economic Development, Adriana Flosi, highlighted that Campinas is at the center of several projects, such as 5G coverage. The objective of the meeting was to present to the state secretary the size of the sector in the city. “We want to show strength, without arrogance,” she explained.
Secretary Zeina Latif stated that she intends to stimulate innovation. “The State Government’s mission is to consolidate innovation ecosystems. We know that innovation is not the reality of most Brazilian companies. We need to help them start their technology projects,” she said.
Public hearing for zoning
The bill that will define the zoning and rules for occupation of the HIDS area will be submitted to a public hearing by the end of August this year, according to a forecast from the Secretary of Planning and Urbanism of Campinas, Carolina Baracat. The project is currently being processed by the Legal Affairs department, but should be released for a hearing in the coming weeks.
After the hearing, it will be forwarded to the CMDU (Municipal Urban Development Council) for consideration and will then be voted on by the City Council.
“In the Chamber, the project will follow the procedure of the House, with its internal deadlines and the holding of new hearings, but we hope that it will be approved by the end of the year”, says Carolina. According to the secretary, the creation of a Steering Committee, made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, is being evaluated.
The general coordinator of HIDS at Unicamp, professor Mariano Laplane, said that the International Hub project has the potential to become a project in the State of São Paulo. "HIDS is a place for partnership, synergy between universities, research centers, companies, but also for the interaction of different types of facilities, diverse infrastructures, circulation of people, in short, an environment that promotes the creative industry, innovation , exchanges and the circulation of ideas", he summarized.
