Patterns and characteristics of university-industry relationships: evidences from a college of engineering in Brazil

摘要

The university-industry interactions have been perceived by academics and governments as one of the key drivers for social and economic development of nations. In Brazil, these interactions are still a recent phenomenon, with no conclusive results on its effectiveness and with no clear guidelines on how to tackle the main problems faced by the professionals, researchers and institutions involved on such interactions. In order to provide an accurate diagnosis of the characteristics, challenges and peculiarities of these phenomena, the present study investigates the university-industry relations in the School of Engineering of Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), located in the municipality of Niterói/RJ. In order to contribute to the analysis of the problem, interviews were conducted with professors and researchers affiliated with the School. The results shows, from the perspective of the respondents, the main motivations of the parties involved in these relationships, as well as the main limitations and difficulties in its establishment.