UNIPLAC’s Scientific Exhibition: 18 Years of History

Abstract

This study was developed at Universidade do Planalto Catarinense—UNIPLAC, an university established since 1954, located in the city of Lages State of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. The city of Lages has approximately 160,000 inhabitants. In 1997, the Planalto Catarinense University (UNIPLAC) created the Scientific Exhibition (Mostra Científica), intended to disclose scientific works brought about by their faculty, researchers and students. The goal is to identify UNIPLAC’s scientific output from 1997 to 2012 in the Scientific Exhibition. A survey of existing reports on the exhibition was executed. 3237 scientific works have been published since the creation of the event in 1997 until 2012. Initially, the Scientific Exhibition was intended for the presentation of degree requirement works and was extended to works of research and extension developed within UNIPLAC and other institutions. There was a considerable increase in the number of works presented along the years of Scientific Exhibition, and therefore there was also a greater integration between the university and the community. The exhibition motivates students to submit their ideas, writings and findings. The young scholar shows greater motivation towards his studies. Academic exchange operates in several ways: between teachers and students of an institution and towards colleagues from other institutions. The scientific and technological advancements of a nation depend on the quality of its researchers, on the awareness of its science and the interaction between industry and science.

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de Souza, P. and Bratti, V. (2015) UNIPLAC’s Scientific Exhibition: 18 Years of History. Creative Education, 6, 1879-1882. doi: 10.4236/ce.2015.617193.

1. Introduction

One of the main challenges among the three cornerstones of studies in a university: teaching, research and extension, is the publication of scientific research. Scientific publication is the final product of the researcher’s work, intended to promote the progress of science, usually heralding new research. Currently, the university’s performance evaluation has been made mainly in light of scientific yield, international impact, the amount of articles published in journals indexed in international databases of scientific literature, as well as the weight of impact of these journals (Malafaia, 2010) .

The Undergraduate Research Internship (URI) is a method of academic research that seeks to introduce the students of undergraduate courses to groups and categories of research. URI provides the student with a proximity to the practice of techniques and to scientific knowledge. Guided by a faculty member, the student writes projects and conducts theoretical research and/or practical activities that result in the presentation of works at conferences or in the publishing of articles in scientific journals (Margarido, 2013) .

The scientific research carried out during the academic degree studies provides better training, improvement of activities related to their future profession, a better relationship between teachers and students, and also the knowledge on research methodology (Bratti et al., 2014) .

The scientific work becomes public when published in meetings through oral communications and posters, in scientific journals, books, by the press, throughout the internet and among other means, as in this way the researcher exposes ideas, ensure the scientific property and subjects himself to peer review (TARGINO; GARCIA, 2000 apud Görgens, 2007 ).

According to Albagli, the roles of scientific communication have evolved over time, following the very development of science and technology: educational (increased knowledge and understanding of the laymen about the scientific process and its logic), civic (development of an instructed public opinion on the impact of scientific and technological development on society, particularly in critical areas of the decision-making process) and the popular mobilization (expansion of possibility and quality of society participation in the formulation of public policies and in the choosing of technological options) (Albagli, 1996) .

In 1997, the Planalto Catarinense University (UNIPLAC) created the Scientific Exhibition (Mostra Científica), intended to disclose scientific works brought about by their faculty and researchers. The Science Exhibition is under the responsibility of the Research Division, linked to the Dean’s Office of Research, Extension and Graduate Studies, responsible for establishing the publishing standards, selection of scientific projects and for the scheduling of the academic event. The presentation of the scientific works guarantees the rights of authorship and recognition at the university. The event encourages the publications of the various areas of knowledge developed in the Educational Institution aiming exposure, debate, questioning and evaluation of scientific literature. UNIPLAC is an educational institution of Higher Level that has existed for 56 year, located in the mountainous plateau of the State of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, and has five thousand students.

The goal is to identify UNIPLAC’s scientific yield from 1997 to 2012 in the Scientific Exhibition.

2. Methodology

A survey of records in the reports of issues of UNIPLAC’S Scientific Exhibition since the implementation of the event in 1997 to the edition 2012 was realized. The classification of all published work was based on the information contained in the reports.

3. Results and Discussion

In 1997, the first event was called Ist Scientific Exhibition of Works of Undergraduate Research, in 1998, together with the IInd Exhibition, was created the Ist Research, Education and Extension Congress.

The Exhibition and the Congress are opportunities for the researcher/academy member and researcher/faculty member to expose their scientific productions to the educational community, to companies, to the health sector, to the market, and to the spheres of culture and citizenship. In the Exhibition there are oral presentations and printed panels presented at an scheduled time, as well as lectures, over a period of 5 days.

The event (Figure 1), which has been held since 1997, has a total amount of 3237 scientific works by the year 2012, as can be seen below.

In the first edition of the Scientific Exhibition, in 1997, the event included a presentation of 136 scientific works. This year the presentations were degree requirement papers. The works were divided into topics: education and culture; education: science, technology and society, and free topic.

In the next edition, in 1998, the amount of works dropped to 65 scientific works, 41 of which were orally

Figure 1. Total amount of works published in the Scientific Exhibition from 1997 to 2012.

presented and 24 as panels, intended for the presentation and disclosure of research, degree requirement papers, extension projects and training activities developed by the academic community of Planalto Catarinense University. The works were divided into: education and culture; environment, free topic, employment and income, plateau of Santa Catarina.

In 1999, in the third edition of the event, 78 scientific works were published, 60 of which were oral presentations and 18 were panels, the goal being the dissemination and exchange of undergraduate research works, training activities, degree requirement papers, and the extension and research activities realized in UNIPLAC. Also, in that year began the acceptance of works from other Research and Educational Institutions. The works were separated in the following areas: special education; education and teacher’s training; special topics; mathematics; culture and education; applied social sciences; environment and health.

In 2000, the number of published scientific works increased to 102, 85 of which were oral presentations and 17 were panels. The works were divided into: environment, health and quality of life; physical education; education and culture: mathematics; pedagogy; education and culture: social sciences; written arts; the mountainous plateau in the context of regional development: technologies.

In the 5th edition of Scientific Exhibition in 2001, there was a substantial increase in the number of published scientific works, with 198 works, of which 133 were presented orally and 65 in the form of panels. The subjects were divided into: legal sciences; biology and health sciences; applied social sciences; exact and technological sciences; humanities, literature and arts.

In 2002, there was also an increase to 216 in the number of published scientific works, 151 of which were oral presentations and 65 were panels. The works were divided into: legal sciences; biological and health sciences; applied social sciences; exact and technological sciences; humanities, literature and arts.

In the 7th edition in 2003, 220 scientific works were presented: 156 oral presentations and 64 panels. The works were divided into: legal sciences; biological and health sciences; applied social sciences; exact and technological sciences; humanities, literature and arts.

In 2004, 237 scientific works were presented, of which 166 were presented orally and 71 were panels. The works were divided into: legal sciences; biological and health sciences; applied social sciences; exact and technological sciences; humanities, literature and arts. This year, the Science Exhibition had the general topic: “Young Researcher: tracing the profile of science.”

In 2005, 238 scientific works were presented, of which 143 were oral presentations and 95 in form of panels. The works were divided into: health sciences; biological sciences; applied social sciences; engineering and technology; humanities and social sciences; exact and earth sciences. The assigned topic was: “URI and training of researchers.”

In the 10th edition, in 2006, there were 297 presentations of scientific works, of which 235 were oral and 62 were panels. The works were divided into: biological and health sciences; exact and earth sciences; humanities and social sciences; applied social sciences; engineering and technology. The topic was: “Ethics and production of knowledge.”

In 2007, there was a reduction in the number of presentations. 210 scientific works were presented, with 166 presented orally and 44 in the form of panels. The goal was to promote exchanges within the tripod of the university: teaching, research and extension, allowing researchers and scholarship students to present their researches to users, the community, teachers and students by sharing their experiences with the academic community. The topics were: exact and earth sciences; humanities; applied social sciences; engineering and technology; biological and health sciences.

In 2008, there was an increase in the number of presentations to 268 scientific works, of which 206 were in form of oral presentations and 62 were panels. In this edition of the report there is no record of the topics presented.

In 2009, there were 223 presentations of scientific works, of which 177 were oral presentations and 46 were panels. There was no division between subject areas.

In the 14th edition, in 2010, 194 scientific works were presented, 170 presented orally and 24 in the form of panels. In order to encourage research and extension as basic activities for the undergraduate studies; to ease interdisciplinary work between undergraduate and graduate studies; to allow the exchange of knowledge between students and teachers from different areas; to promote the work done by the institution, and to encourage conducting applied research promoting regional development.

In 2011 the amount of works increased, reaching 300 presentations of scientific works, of which 240 were oral presentations and 60 were panels.

In 2012, 255 scientific works were presented, with 198 oral presentations and 57 in the form of panels. This year had no division of scientific work in areas of knowledge.

It was not possible to identify the number of works per course, but there is a widening in the types of presentations, initially intended to be only degree requirement works, but which now also encompass the research and extension division developed in UNIPLAC, which results in a considerable increase in the number of works. An institutional incentive for students and faculty members in conducting research and extension projects and in the disclosure to the institution and to the community is noted.

4. Conclusion

An evolution and maturation of Scientific Exhibition can be observed, which can be confirmed by the expansion of both knowledge areas and research methods.

This is the first step towards the market. This evolution also allows participants to build social networks, which is important for the inclusion of the student and the professional in the employment market.

The exhibition motivates students to submit their ideas, writings and findings. The young academic becomes more motivated towards his studies.

The scientific and technological advancements of a nation depend on the quality of its researchers, the awareness towards its science and interaction between industry and science (BECCENERI; KIENBAUM, 2006 apud Görgens, 2007: p. 24 ).

The success of the exhibition is achieved through the growing amount of presentations and participation of students and faculty members from other institutions.

The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to upgrade and develop upon teaching, researching and extension, in addition to provide an interaction with colleagues and professionals in its segment, thus allowing an upgrade on their resumes and in their professional life.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-7262.v46i1p56-58

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