University extension programs are increasingly taking center stage in academic training. Based on this understanding, representatives from Unicamp, the University of São Paulo (USP), and the São Paulo State University (Unesp) are debating, in a two-day event that opened this Monday (May 4th), topics such as the curricularization of extension activities and the search for new forms of articulation between university and society.
At the opening of the fourth edition of the “Culture and Extension Meeting of São Paulo State Universities,” held at the Unicamp Convention Center, Sylvia Furegatti, Pro-Rector of Extension, Sports and Culture (Proeec), highlighted the collective nature of the initiative and the role of São Paulo state universities in consolidating extension policies. “The goal is to share experiences and strengthen this field within the universities,” she stated.
According to Furegatti, the meeting also represents the continuation of a process that began in 2023, when the first edition was held at Unicamp itself. Afterwards, the event was held at Unesp and USP before returning to Campinas. "University extension is both consolidated in its foundations and constantly needs to be ratified and reinvented," he emphasized.
Furegatti also defended a broader understanding of the concept of culture. “Unicamp is the only one of the three universities that brings together sports, culture, and outreach in the same vice-rectorate. I think this is fundamental because cultural and outreach policies have always been closely linked. Sports are also imbued with this cultural dimension. When we talk about culture, we are not only talking about the arts, but also about scientific and academic culture, and sports. So, having this extra 'E' differentiates us and shows that Unicamp intends to consolidate its own policy for sports. This is our youngest directorate; it's only five years old,” he concluded.
The curricularization of extension activities, a requirement that mandates the inclusion of extension activities in undergraduate curricula, emerged as one of the main themes of the meeting. According to the Vice-Rector of Unicamp, this change in the conception of university education “can be interpreted as the greatest revolution in the academic training of students in Brazil.”
The Vice-Rector for Culture and University Extension (PRCEU) at USP, Amâncio Jorge Silva Nunes de Oliveira, highlighted that the process still faces conceptual and institutional challenges and that one of the main problems lies in the very heterogeneity of the conceptions of extension within universities. “There are currents that associate extension with welfare assistance, and others that advocate for a greater conceptual openness, including entrepreneurship and innovation.” According to him, this diversity hinders both academic debate and the formulation of more consistent institutional policies.
Oliveira also drew attention to the risk of a merely bureaucratic curricularization, done only to fulfill formal requirements. “Universities still need to build more solid mechanisms for incentivizing, financing, and evaluating extension activities,” he stated. Among the challenges pointed out by the pro-rector are the absence of metrics capable of measuring the social impact of university extension and the difficulty of scaling up the actions developed by universities. “What we often see are extremely important local projects, but still not very scalable,” he observed.
The Vice-Rector for University Extension and Culture (Proec) at Unesp, Raul Borges Guimarães, argued that university extension should also be understood as knowledge production and not just as a complementary activity. “Extension is a way of doing science; it's not a one-way street. It produces shared knowledge.”
According to Guimarães, the curricularization strongly boosted the growth of extension activities at Unesp. "We quadrupled the number of projects and actions since the implementation of the curricularization," he stated. He highlighted that by the end of 2026, approximately 30 university students are expected to participate in extension activities.
The event's program, which concludes this Tuesday, includes debates on the internationalization of outreach programs, accessibility, curricular integration, culture, sports, scientific dissemination, and social innovation, as well as a showcase of outreach projects developed by Unicamp. The closing ceremony will feature the launch of a book by Professor Marli Quadros Leite, former Pro-Rector of Culture and Outreach at USP.
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