In the month that marks the celebration of the Unicamp Inventors Award 2026, an award that, in its 19th edition, honors 194 inventors and authors of intellectual property transferred to companies and public and private institutions, and highlights five academic spin-off companies , Inova Unicamp presents the University's innovation indicators for 2025. The numbers show an institution that has intensified its relationship with the business sector, with records in practically all areas of the Agency's activity.
Unicamp formalized 67 research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) agreements with companies in 2025, raising R$372,9 million for research, a 108% increase compared to the previous period. Among the R&D&I projects that generated protected and licensed technologies with strategic support from Inova Unicamp, celebrated at the 2026 Inventors Award, two computer programs for mitigating industrial risks stand out, currently being tested on offshore oil platforms off the Brazilian coast. Another highlight was the international licensing of a technology developed in partnership with North American institutions, aimed at the more efficient production of second-generation ethanol through the use of bacteria in fermentation.
“With each edition, this award reaffirms Unicamp’s commitment to scientific research and the transfer of knowledge to society. It recognizes past achievements, but focuses on the future, in which the University must expand investments in this area, continue producing excellent science, training people and generating social and technological advances,” said Professor Paulo César Montagner, Rector of Unicamp, during the official award ceremony held this Thursday (13), at Espaço Barão, in Paulínia.
The event is part of the special program celebrating Unicamp's 60th anniversary. The complete list of awarded and honored inventors can be found on the official Unicamp Inventors Award website.
Patents filed by Unicamp
Growth is also evident in the field of intellectual property, the gateway to the innovation cycle. In total, Inova Unicamp received 121 invention communications from faculty, researchers, students, and collaborators of the University, generating 77 new patent applications filed. The commitment of the 328 inventors involved in these filings was recognized with a certificate of honor, in the Patent Filed category, in this edition of the Unicamp Inventors Award.
Furthermore, the National Institute of Industrial Property ( INPI ) granted 90 patents to the University during this period, a 43% increase compared to the previous year. With this, Unicamp's Technology Portfolio reached a total of 1.374 active patents.
“The steady growth in the indicators is the result of Inova Unicamp's strategic support to the academic community, guiding them on how to protect intellectual property and its value for the University, for researchers, and for society,” says Elisama Campelo Santos, intellectual property supervisor at Inova Unicamp.
Check out this and other Unicamp innovation indicators in the Inova Unicamp 2025 Annual Report, available for free download on the Library page of the Innovation Agency's website.
Technology transfer from Unicamp
Moving forward in the innovation cycle, the technology transfer stage, the moment when research leaves the laboratory to be transformed into new products and services on the market, also registered historical milestones. In 2025, Inova Unicamp signed 38 new licensing agreements for patents, computer programs, know-how supply , and material transfer. This result raised the total number of active agreements to 254, the highest level ever recorded by the Agency, generating approximately R$1,28 million in royalties and financial returns throughout the year.
“The record number of active technology transfer contracts reflects the strategic management of Inova Unicamp. The progress in 2025 reinforces the maturity of our ecosystem and the commitment to transforming the University's science into a positive impact for society and the economy,” comments Beatriz Hargrave Gonçalves da Silva, technology transfer supervisor at Inova Unicamp.
Advances in technology transfer are directly reflected in the categories and number of award winners in the Inventors Award.
In the Licensed Intellectual Property category, 179 individuals were recognized in connection with 38 technology transfer agreements for 36 technologies from Unicamp. In the Technology Absorbed by the Market category, recognition went to 21 inventors of three technologies that effectively gained market share and generated royalties for the University.
Rounding out the highlights, the Academic Spin-off category honored five recent companies whose business is based on technologies or knowledge generated at Unicamp, two of which have active technology licensing from Unicamp.
Award-winning technology licensing cases
Among the award-winning technologies transferred in the last year, highlights include a solution to minimize losses caused by stink bugs (insects that suck and damage plants, especially grains) in soybean plantations; a bioactive liquid dressing based on plant waste, capable of fighting microorganisms and accelerating skin healing ; and a method that can make hair transplantation viable for people without sufficient donor area or with losses caused by chemotherapy and burns.
The technology transfer cycle also drives new research, expands knowledge, and generates new patents. An example of this is the application of jabuticaba peel in intestinal health products developed by a spin-off company from Unicamp : born in the Unicamp Challenge, the spin-off advanced its studies from an initial licensing agreement and generated a new patent on the prebiotic action of the fruit for the functional foods sector.
“Inova Unicamp’s 23-year trajectory accompanies and is driven by the development of the University itself, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. This experience consolidates us as a leading Technology Transfer Office (NTI), capable of continuously evolving in its practices. In 2025, we will advance even further in this maturity with InovaLab, marking our active presence in laboratories to promote a culture of intellectual property protection, technology transfer, support the emergence of spin-offs, and shorten the path between the inventor and the business sector,” says Iara Ferreira, business and innovation coordinator at Inova Unicamp.
All reports from the 2026 Inventors Award special can be followed on the official Unicamp Inventors Award website.
External recognition
The performance also earned recognition beyond the University walls. At the XIX National FORTEC Meeting, Unicamp won first place in the Southeast regional stage of the FORTEC Innovation Award 2026, in the category "Granted Patent or Patent Application," with nanoimmunotherapy for the treatment of bladder cancer, a project that has gone through the entire innovation cycle, from basic research to transfer, with patents granted in Brazil, the United States, and Europe. The technology is in clinical trials with positive results and has already generated new knowledge and the creation of a spin-off company from the University, which was awarded at this 19th edition of the event.
This year, the award also celebrates the Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA) and the Institute of Biology (IB), which were recognized, respectively, in the categories “Outstanding Unit in Intellectual Property Protection” and “Outstanding Unit in Technology Transfer”. The winners were announced during the Inventors Award Meetup , held last Tuesday (4), in the FEA's Noble Hall, and which had the use of artificial intelligence in innovation processes as its central theme. The awarded units received the trophies during dinner , held this Thursday (13), at Espaço Barão in Paulínia. The events were part of the special program commemorating Unicamp's 60th anniversary.
“The number of people awarded and honored grows with each edition of the Inventors Award, a direct reflection of the community's engagement and the strengthening of communication and innovation culture at Unicamp. With this year's events, we want to bring inventors even closer together and expand the exchange of experiences among them,” says Professor Renato Lopes, executive director of Inova Unicamp.
About the Unicamp Inventors Award
The Unicamp Inventors Award is organized by Inova Unicamp , the body responsible for protecting and managing intellectual property developed at the University, promoting technology transfer, and fostering technological entrepreneurship and partnerships with the business sector. Created in 2003, the Agency launched the award the following year, in 2004, to recognize researchers involved in technology transfer at Unicamp, awarding ten researchers at that time. From 2009 onwards, the award became annual, and in this 19th edition , it reached 194 awarded inventors and 328 honored inventors.
The 2026 Inventors Award has the institutional support of Lumina , the Unicamp Endowment Fund, and is sponsored by ClarkeModet and FM2S.
Article originally published on the Inova Unicamp website.
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