The term “innovation” is present in all areas and sectors of society, particularly in the business world, where it refers to the implementation of new products or significant improvements to existing ones, as well as new processes or methods in business practices. According to the Innovation Law, the concept is defined as “the introduction of a novelty or improvement in the productive and social environment that results in new products, services, or processes, or that involves adding new functionalities or characteristics to an existing product, service, or process that may result in improvements and an effective gain in quality or performance.”

With regard to education, the term has been adopted as a synonym for educational change and restructuring (modification of curriculum proposals and disruption of educational practices), redefinition of the teacher-student relationship and the assessment process, reconfiguration and diversification of learning environments, active methodologies, technologies applied to education, digital transformation, agile academic and administrative management, etc.

But I want to explore a different perspective on innovation. To paraphrase Councilor Luiz Roberto Cury, in a lecture he gave at CBESP 2022, I agree with him that“the greatest innovation in higher education is that which focuses on the development of the regions where these institutions are located.” 

I view innovation in education as rooted in a new paradigm: education as a tool for addressing the challenges of the contemporary world and solving problems that arise from a constantly changing reality. This leads to a broadening of the concept of innovation as the co-creation of alternative and equitable solutions—developed through interaction with the community—for problems of collective interest, with a view toward social inclusion.

From this perspective, extension has the potential to facilitate new means and processes of production, innovation, and the socialization of knowledge, as well as the sharing of experiences and social practices, thereby enabling broader access to both academic and popular knowledge and contributing to the country’s technological and social development (FORPROEX, 2012).  Extension activities generate social value through the development of collaborative networks that work, for example, on:

a) addressing regional disparities;

b) promoting operational eco-efficiency among companies of all sizes and self-managed enterprises;

c) support for the solidarity economy;

d) design of sustainable products;

e) the development of technologies that contribute to the population’s quality of life and environmental justice;

f) social and economic inclusion;

g) digital literacy;

h) gender equity;

i) socially inclusive neighborhood/city renewal to promote community involvement in the drafting of laws, social oversight, and the provision of public services;

j) participatory and multifaceted governance in public action;

k) artistic development, the creation and dissemination of processes and products that contribute to the development of the arts as a phenomenon, value, and concept;

l) expanding and strengthening efforts to democratize scientific knowledge;

m) valuing the knowledge of traditional peoples, etc.

A focus on social transformation leads to the transformation of the institution of higher education itself, of teaching practices, and of the curriculum, in an ongoing process of feedback. It brings the institution closer to the world of work and contemporary issues, strengthens the integration between undergraduate and graduate programs, fosters coherence in academic and administrative management, deconstructs pedagogies that subordinate knowledge, breaks through the invisibility of marginalized communities, promotes sociocultural diversity, and defends the plurality of knowledge domains. 

The integration of extension programs into the curriculum, therefore, by redefining educational practice, contributes to a socially innovative educational institution with a tangible social impact.

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*Thistext does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bett Brasil.