Academicism versus innovation: challenges for the Brazilian science and technology system

Abstract

The excellent essay by Reinaldo Guimarães reminds us that despite the relative success of Brazil's graduate studies system and science policy in recent decades, there is still a serious gap between the country's academic output and its needs for scientific and technological knowledge, as well as for training researchers and professionals in order for the country to achieve social and economic development consistent with its wealth.I begin by agreeing with the author's arguments, then add some aspects (or comments on aspects he has raised) in order to further contribute to the issue.The first important point for understanding this gap is the persistence of a certain view of scientific practice, especially in graduate studies, whereby academic erudition speaks louder than pragmatic vision informed by the search for creative or innovative solutions to real problems. Although Brazilian science and graduate studies policymakers have adopted the American model for research universities in the last 30 years, in practice Brazilian universities are still far short of realizing this model. Most Brazilian university institutions still suffer from archaic organizational structures, absence of adequate research infrastructure, a teaching philosophy lagging at least a century behind, and lack of specialization, among other problems. Meanwhile several graduate studies programs have managed to overcome the problems of the universities to which they belong, and excellent research programs can be found within otherwise lackluster institutions.Even the country's legislation on public administration poses a daunting barrier to the modernization of university institutions, in order for them to organize based on academic merit, seeking greater effectiveness in tackling contemporary challenges. Investment and budget policies (of which faculty hiring and promotion policy is just one) are seriously constrained, denying the administrators any autonomy in academic matters.The organizational format obviously also reveals a predominantly conservative stance among faculty, staff, and students, who resist proposals for change. Again, Brazilian graduate studies programs are often an exception to the rule, given the greater flexibility allowed in their format. However, there is a contradiction here that does not go unnoticed by those dedicated to reflecting on the Brazilian graduate studies model. On the one hand, for a long time Capes was involved in inducing changes in the programs' organization by placing greater emphasis on research activities and forcing a reduction in the number of credits granted for course offerings; on the other, the system is still overregulated, both in the approval of new courses and in the process of evaluating already accredited programs. In this context of institutional fragility, conservatism, and regulation, it is easier to practice "more of the same" than to pursue innovation.Another issue that results to a certain extent from the problem discussed above is the resistance to the technological side of the scien...

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