Banca de DEFESA: LUCIANA COUTO NEPOMUCENO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LUCIANA COUTO NEPOMUCENO
DATE: 04/02/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Vídeo Conferência
TITLE:

Essays on Innovation: Theoretical, Historical, and Empirical Perspectives from the National Innovation Systems Framework.

KEY WORDS:

National Innovation System, NIS, Innovation, Distance Education, Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (IFEs), University Reform, Pandemic, Innovation, Space Sector, Regional Innovation System, RIS, Sectoral Innovation System, SIS, Space Sector, Federal District (DF), Innovation.

PAGES: 155
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Economia
SUMMARY:

This thesis examines the role of universities within innovation systems in developing countries, with particular emphasis on the Brazilian context and the space sector. It argues that universities should not be understood merely as providers of skilled labor, but as structural actors capable of shaping productive, technological, and territorial trajectories through their institutional choices, especially regarding the design of academic programs, curricula, and training strategies. In innovation systems characterized by strong state involvement and a relatively weak private sector in high-complexity technological fields, universities occupy a strategic position, although their influence is constrained by institutional limitations and fragmented public policies.

The thesis is structured around four interconnected articles. The first establishes the theoretical framework by critically revisiting the literature on National Innovation Systems and proposing a hierarchical and vertically organized systemic approach better suited to Global South contexts, in which the state plays a coordinating role in close interaction with universities and, potentially, with industry. The second article analyzes the historical evolution of Brazilian higher education, demonstrating how processes of marketization, curricular flexibilization, and institutional precarization have affected universities’ capacity to perform their educational, scientific, and innovative functions. The third article provides an empirical analysis of the Brazilian space innovation system based on data from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), highlighting the central role of public universities, the strong dependence on state actors, and the high degree of institutional and regional concentration. The fourth article examines the emergence of a space cluster in Brasília, showing that it resulted from contingent institutional arrangements linked to the creation of an aerospace engineering program and the trajectories of its graduates, rather than from a deliberate and coordinated public policy strategy.

The findings indicate that, while universities can induce innovative dynamics and foster the emergence of new productive arrangements, the absence of integrated and long-term policy coordination often leads to fragile and potentially short-lived outcomes. The thesis concludes that stronger articulation between higher education policies, innovation policies, and territorial development strategies is essential to transform opportunistic initiatives into sustainable trajectories and to strengthen innovation capacities in strategic sectors such as the space industry.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1963493 - ANDREA FELIPPE CABELLO
Interna - 2964829 - DANIELA FREDDO
Externo à Instituição - DANILO SAKAY - AEB
Interna - 1165236 - DENISE IMBROISI
Externa à Instituição - PATRÍCIA DE OLIVEIRA MATOS - UNIFA