São José dos Campos city councilSão José dos Campos Technological Center: focusing on the aeronautical industrySão José dos Campos city council
The project to implement the São Paulo State Technological Complexes System has been completed. Sponsored by the Development Bureau and implemented as part of a special FAPESP program, the project concerned establishing technological complexes in seven cities: São Paulo, Campinas, São José dos Campos, Piracicaba, São Carlos, Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto. “The technological complexes will help transform knowledge into wealth. The state of São Paulo, thanks to the diversity of its scientific and technological production and its vigorous entrepreneurship, is ripe for hosting such a system,” explained the director of the Advanced Studies Institute, João Steiner, who has coordinated the project for two and a half years.
The São Paulo system was devised to link the public and the private sectors, as well as research institutions. “Each one of these players will have a very clear role,” explained Steiner during a seminar held on December 10, at the FAPESP auditorium, to present the project’s conclusions. The event was attended by the Development secretary and by the vice-governor, Alberto Goldman. The government will provide guidance and policies, besides equipment; the research institutions will be responsible for training human resources and for generating new knowledge; and the private sector will provide investment and the implementation of new businesses.
According to Steiner, firms’ investments in research and development should grow and encourage a rising number of patent applications. “The complexes will also be environmentally sustainable and should work as a model for 21st century living standards,” highlights Steiner.
The São José dos Campos complex, which focuses on the aeronautical industry, and the one in São Carlos, which will specialize in optics, materials and instrumentation, have already reached an advanced stage: the ‘centers’ have been set up and the managing entities instituted. For instance, Vale (formerly known as the Vale do Rio Doce company) is setting up, in the São José dos Campos complex, an energy research center called CDTE (Technological Energy Development Center), in a partnership agreement with BNDES, the National Social and Economic Development Bank.
The others have started to negotiate partnerships and to detail projects: in Piracicaba, the center will be geared to ethanol production; in Ribeirão Preto, to health; in Campinas, to communication and information technology; and in São José do Rio Preto, it is expected to specialize in biotechnology. The center that is running the latest is the São Paulo one, which will probably focus on intensive knowledge services.
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