University-Business-Government Interaction: the case of the Brazil-Singapore Educational Program for Knowledge Transfer

Abstract

The university-business-government interactions in Brazil reflect the orientation of public policies and models adopted by the National Innovation System, in which the university becomes an important social actor in economic development. When considering the university’s role and its relationship with the state and the market, this study analyzes how the configuration of a Triple Helix model occurs in the university-business-government relationship. The qualitative approach uses a case study of an international educational cooperation program for knowledge transfer. Data collection occurred through documents and in-depth interviews that were analyzed using content analysis. The results demonstrate that the configuration of the Triple Helix is laissez-faire. However, it presents an imbalance in the participation of the actors involved. The state government offered support and was limited to regulate and establish the intermediation between the university and the company in an institutional way. The company starred the relationship, taking responsibility for most of the actions that should have been taken by the other actors. The university sought to balance its social and economic purposes by implementing Entrepreneurial University principles in its structure and by managing intercultural obstacles to articulate other partnerships. Among the actions taken are the creation of a research and extension program and a doctoral course focused on the naval industry. This shows that this kind of interaction can promote promote innovation, although incrementally, in the long run.