Unicamp and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service of São Paulo (Sebrae-SP) signed, this semester, a technical cooperation agreement to strengthen and promote a series of actions whose objective is to promote the culture of entrepreneurship, technology and innovation for the University community and the Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park. Lasting 60 months, the agreement presents a work plan that focuses on disseminating entrepreneurship concepts to undergraduate and postgraduate students and teachers to create businesses and spin-off companies based on technology developed at the University.
For the rector of the University, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, the signing of the agreement not only formalizes a years-long partnership, but also expands its scope. “We understand that Unicamp has an important role in training both technology-based entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship agents. In this scope, the partnership with Sebrae-SP will help us to continuously offer training to those students who wish to undertake and impact society through their new businesses”, comments the dean.
In the first phase of the agreement, entrepreneurship training courses are being offered to students and teachers at the University. The offer of open and free training for Unicamp students began in September and continues until November this year. Under the title of Entrepreneurial Journey, training is offered through the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, in a face-to-face format, on the Unicamp campus in Campinas, with registrations open to students of all courses. In the first offer to the teaching public, made in September, 35 teachers from 24 Unicamp units signed up for the courses that are being offered until the end of 2022. Professor Ana Frattini, executive director of Inova Unicamp, sees the partnership as a opportunity to expand the entrepreneurial culture among teachers. “We focus a lot of effort on spreading the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Sebrae is an important partner in this context”, she assesses.
For the president of the Sebrae-SP Deliberative Council, Tirso Meirelles, the partnership with Unicamp will further enhance the University's entrepreneurial activity. “Unicamp is already a recognized entrepreneurial university, with more than a thousand registered daughter companies. Through the partnership, Sebrae-SP will further support the development of these entrepreneurial skills, behaviors and attitudes among the University’s students,” he states.
Throughout the incubation program, entrepreneurs from Unicamp's technology-based Business Incubator (Incamp) are also included in training and technical consultancy offered by Sebrae. The Desafio Unicamp, UniversIDADE programs and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Disciplines organized every six months by Inova Unicamp may also be included in the scope of the partnership.
Article originally published on the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency website.
