Park intends to attract and set up 1,000 new startups
Photo: Bruno Todeschini
On Aug 25, PUCRS’ Science and Technology Park (Tecnopuc), one of the best technology parks of Brazil celebrates its 15th anniversary with a very auspicious goal: to attract and generate 1,000 new startups. As stated in its strategic plan of Innovation and Development, the University plans to follow a trend that is now in effect at the main global ecosystems of innovation, which is to redirect its efforts for the generation of high-performance startups with social and environmental impact. 2018 will also see the 70th anniversary of PUCRS. The University is now promoting changes in its teaching, research and extension activities in order to have an impact on the future of society.
Today, Tecnopuc is home to more than 150 organizations, including global giants, such as Microsoft, Apple, Santander, Getnet, HP, HPE, ThoughtWorks and Oracle. It is also home to national companies, such as DB Server, Globo.com, UOL, Stefanini, LifeMed and Toth; and research centers, such as the Brain Institute (BraIns), Smart City Innovation Center Huawei, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources (IPR) and the Audiovisual Technological Center of RS (Tecna). It also has other mechanisms to generate businesses, having graduated more than 200 startups since its very beginning, such as Cliever Tecnologia and Egalitê Recursos Humanos Especiais.
The Park is home to more than 6,5000 professionals in an area designed to create synergy between the companies and the University. It also has collaboration agreements and partnerships with more than 150 countries. Since it was founded, in 2003, its area has increased four times as much in size, from 20,000 m2 to 90,000 m2. Tecnopuc has been continuously growing and its actions are geared towards the development of an environment to attract businesses in connection with PUCRS, since it is focused on the transformation of knowledge produced in the academia into businesses, job generation and income.
Management actions at a global scale
When it comes to governance and management model, 2018 also brings something new for Tecnopuc. PUCRS now counts on a Superintendency of Innovation and Development, accountable to the Office of the President, which is responsible for overseeing the ecosystem of innovation. On the other hand, the Park includes areas for the administration of physical spaces and projects, generation of startups, creativity, actions for social, new businesses and negotiation.
These changes have resulted from the process of strategic planning that was meant to pave the way for the challenges and opportunities for the coming 15 years at the University and Tecnopuc. This has involved the most current approaches for management and governance in innovation environments and has brought about a lighter, quicker model which is also connected and global.
In the view of PUCRS President, Br. Dr Evilázio Teixeira, more than 20,000 students, professors and researchers study, do research and think up new ideas in line with the real needs of an ever-growing complex world. What is unique about the University is the employment of the knowledge produced to develop transformative solutions for the challenges of society, and the Park plays a key role. “Tecnopuc is one of the most important actions of PUCRS in its effort to reach out to society. This gives our undergraduate and graduate students the unique chance to contribute to the economic and social development of our region”, says he.
Dr Jorge Audy, Superintendent of Innovation and Development of PUCRS, claims that the new structure has been conceived and designed to foster a world-class innovative environment. This environment will make a contribution to the actions implemented for the benefit of the University and society. In his view, innovation, either in its incremental or disruptive form, is done with “talented, restless, creative and committed people, in a cooperative way, in order to change our reality for the better.”
Dr Rafael Prikladnicki, Tecnopuc’s director, adds that the Park’s goal is exactly to foster a favorable environment for these people and companies and for job creation. The world has changed and the linear and hierarchical structures of the industrial era have not changed much. Hence, the most relevant innovation environments all over the world are seeking new management and governance models. “Tecnopuc is very much in line with this trend and, with this new model, seeks to encourage teams to work more autonomously and responsibly, and consequently foster creativity and innovation”, comments he.
