Unicamp celebrates one hundred days da new management

Rector and general coordinator take stock of the period, marked by progress in priority areas

Unicamp's rector, Paulo Cesar Montagner, and general coordinator, Fernando Coelho, have just completed one hundred days at the helm of the university and, in a milestone of sorts, have compiled a list of the strategic challenges they consider to have been prioritized during this period. The report includes administrative measures, those related to teaching, research, and outreach, and even those related to São Paulo's three public state universities.

As rotating president of the Council of Rectors of São Paulo State Universities (Cruesp), Montagner states that a central concern at this time is to find a safe — and lasting — way to finance these institutions.

The rector says he requested that the São Paulo State Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SCTI) remove the names of Unicamp, the University of São Paulo (USP), and the São Paulo State University (Unesp) from the implementation schedule for Resolution SFP-04, of February 2025, which regulates the collection method and revenue control systems of the State of São Paulo. The new tax rules should change the way resources can be transferred to educational institutions.

In Cruesp's view, the university system has a number of peculiarities, such as autonomy, and cannot be regulated under a general regime. Therefore, the rector wants universities to be left out of the schedule until technical and legal aspects undergo more detailed analysis.

In his 100-day review, Montagner also revealed that he has already begun the process of implementing new courses at the University. Approved by the University Council (Consu) in early April of this year, four new courses are expected to be among those offered by Unicamp: law, physiotherapy, evening history, and a degree in English. Furthermore, discussions are already underway regarding two other courses: occupational therapy and data science and artificial intelligence.

The Office of the Vice-Rector for Undergraduate Studies (PRG) believes these new programs are necessary. Of the three public universities in São Paulo, Unicamp offers the fewest programs: 65, compared to 183 at USP and 136 at Unesp. Unicamp also offers the fewest places for incoming students: 3.368. USP offers 11.147, and Unesp, 7.680.

Montagner considers one of the main hallmarks of the 100 Days to be the certification as a social organization obtained by the two foundations linked to the University—the Unicamp Development Foundation (Funcamp) and the Campinas Health Area Foundation (Fascamp)—which allows these organizations to participate in public calls for proposals. This certification, for example, ensured Unicamp's continued management of the Sumaré State Hospital (HES), where it has been for over two decades.

Still in the health area, the rector recalls that, at the beginning of July, the University's Hospital de Clínicas (HC) defined the parameters for the institutionalization of the health care policy for trans, transvestite, intersex and non-binary people.

Montagner and Coelho also mentioned the student housing program, which, this August, began the largest expansion in its nearly four-decade history. With the purchase of a 44 m² plot of land, Unicamp will be able to offer 1.400 new housing spaces. Currently, the system offers XNUMX spaces. Half of the new land will house housing, and the other half will house facilities dedicated to administrative support, sports and cultural activities, and university outreach programs.

The rector also reaffirmed its commitment to consolidating the University as an institution committed to combating all types of violence: moral and sexual harassment, racism, sexual harassment, ableism, etc. To this end, it established a working group (WG) to diagnose the situation and develop proposals for institutional action in cases of violence in the workplace.

Sustainability

The rector also noted that the institutional sustainability policy, one of the current administration's priorities, is being consolidated. "This is a structuring principle for building an environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially just university."

For Montagner, one of the main elements of the sustainability policy is the process of implementing the International Hub for Sustainable Development (Hids), an area of ​​11,3 million m² located on the Campinas campus and which will house an innovation district.

The occupation of the area began with the implementation of ecological corridors and should continue with the installation of the Startup Village, the consolidation of partnerships in the implementation of an energy transition policy and the viability of the Ecological Transition Pavilion, which will be part of the initial support infrastructure.

Montagner and Coelho reveal that the implementation of new internationalization goals is still underway.

The PRG has initiated a study to identify demand in this area, which will inform the creation of an institutional policy on language teaching. The provost's office also announced a pilot English teaching project for the Limeira campus, in partnership with the Virtual University of the State of São Paulo (Univesp).

The agency also strengthened ties with the Executive Directorate of International Relations (Deri). The two bodies will work together on public notices and the formalization of agreements with funding for student mobility.

The Office of the Provost for Graduate Studies (PRPG) has also begun to develop proposals for institutional internationalization, one of which is within the scope of the Capes-Global.edu program. The proposal envisions Unicamp as the coordinator of a network focused on the internationalization of graduate programs. The network includes the participation of higher education institutions from the five regions of the country.

Furthermore, the PRPG created a specific area of ​​strategic internationalization, which acts as a facilitator of actions aimed at international cooperation.

Among the actions adopted so far, in the first hundred days, Coelho also recalled that tools created to improve the functioning of the Data and Transformation Support Office (Edat), an organization that provides data panels about the University in order to help it understand itself better and, with this, make strategic decisions in a better informed manner, are being improved.

The rectorate also cited the recent decision by Consu allowing the installation of an institutional data processing center, a data center exclusive to the University.

Other vice-rectorates also reported progress in these first hundred days of the new administration.

The Pro-Rectorate of Research (PRP) has completed the process of regulating the organization and responsibilities of institutional support offices for researchers — or equivalent structures —, which assist in the execution of research projects or with resources obtained directly by the employee, professor or researcher, from funding agencies.

This year, the Provost's Office of Outreach, Sports, and Culture (PROEEC) established two new outreach programs: Maguta and Eyes on the Future. The former was developed from a project carried out last year in the Umariaçu and Belém do Solimões indigenous communities. The latter promotes the concept of decent work for school-age children and adolescents through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda. This brings the agency's total to six outreach programs.

The Office of the Provost for University Development (PRDU) has earmarked a total of R$2025 million for career advancement in 25 under the Plan for Implementing Career Development and Progression for Technical and Administrative Staff (PAEPE) at Unicamp. This amount already includes the effects of the salary adjustment.

The rector

The rector gave a positive assessment of these first hundred days and stated that he is proud of Unicamp's history and confident in the institution's operational dynamics, ensuring that the experience in the position has been worthwhile.

"The grand chambers are a source of pride for the University. They are spaces for rich debate, beacons that guide the decisions the rector must make," he said.

"Being here [in the rectory] is a great learning experience, and I'm very proud of the rich history our colleagues have built over 60 years," he said. "Every minute has been worth it."

"I believe that, in these last hundred days, we're showing what we're here for," Coelho said. "We're beginning to consolidate what we talked about during the election: the idea of ​​no regression while simultaneously advancing in all areas."

"We want to consolidate a management committed to employees and the modernization of the University, increasing the number of vacancies and improving our internal processes," added the general coordinator.

The two drew attention to the university's enormity. With a budget of R$4,3 billion for 2025—a figure greater than that of most Brazilian municipalities—Unicamp is a leading healthcare provider for a population of approximately 6,5 million.

With 70% of its undergraduate courses achieving top grades, the University is the second best higher education institution in Latin America, according to international rankings, and has 82 researchers on the list of the 2% most influential scientists in the world, a list compiled by Stanford University (United States) in partnership with the scientific publisher Elsevier.

Montagner and Coelho also noted that Unicamp has 1.500 registered spin-off companies—ventures created by individuals who have or have had some connection with the University. These companies employ 53.265 people and have broken their annual revenue record, reaching R$28,1 billion, almost seven times the University's own budget.

“What the State receives back in taxes generated by these companies far exceeds what is invested in the University,” Montagner assesses.

DROPS

• Deri reveals a significant increase in the number of exchange students this semester. There were 88 undergraduate students and 35 graduate students—a record number for a semester.
• Detic reports the consolidation of the Ybytinga local cloud as the preferred repository for the University's systems and the creation of reference centers in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
• DEDH reports having established the first hetero-identification procedure carried out by the Identifica system, the result of a partnership with Detic and IC
• Launch of the Unicamp that Transforms campaign, showing how the University has impacted the lives of its students
• Two new call formats launched at Faepex: one to encourage women in the world of science and another for indigenous students
• Integration of technical colleges into Deape's psychosocial support services
• Easier importing items for research