Universidade Federal de São Paulo

The Federal University of São Paulo (Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP) – Unifesp is a university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unifesp is distinguished by the formation of highly qualified human resources and knowledge generation. Until 2005, Unifesp was exclusively for Health Sciences, becaming multisubject since there due to Brazilian Federal Government’s University Reform Program (REUNI) expanding to different cities and enlacing different studies áreas. Now, the university has six campuses: in São Paulo (Health) in Guarulhos (Humanities area), Diadema (Science, Engineering and related), Santos (Health, Marine Sciences), São José dos Campos (computational area) and Osasco (Business and related). The expansion process has incorporated new thematics and theoretical groups in a convergent and effective way - which guarantees the permanence of its historical vocation in health to serve the public interest by promoting activities of the university tripod (teaching, research, and extension). Among other dimensions, the internationalization process, the innovative outcomes of the research and the transformative reach of their extension activities testify the fulfillment of Unifesp´s commitment. The intense and dynamic life transformations in society in the last decades constitute an excellent challenge for Unifesp to continue honoring its identity and the scientific excellence motto as an enabler of social engagement. Thus, it is up to the national scientific community to construct more flexible theoretical frameworks capable of dealing with hybrid issues in a multidimensional and coherent way. The convergent approaches promotion is seen as the most appropriate way to deal with a series of current phenomena, also a way to allow institutions committed to the advancement of scientific knowledge to remain referenced socially. The generalization of the practice of looking at complex problems under a mix of articulated lenses allows for more accurate analysis and more effective results creating possibilities for the reinvention of teaching and research practices. The institutional effort for renewal is something that Unifesp has been doing for some years, with profound changes in its organization and following the express mandate of its Institutional Development Plans. A fundamental component of this necessary change in thinking and doing science in Brazil is an active connection to the global state of the art in various knowledge areas. National scientific advances require a strategic and mature international insertion to dialogue in the fronts of scientific discovery, to transgress dated conceptions and to assert international leadership.