The Graduate Programme in Science and Technology Policy (PPG-PCT) places an interdisciplinary focus on studies in Science, Technology and Innovation (CT&I). Hence, it consists of a number of disciplinary approaches on the generation and use of knowledge, economic and social appropriation of knowledge, economic and social restraints and implications of this process.
The main issues comprising the research conducted in the PPG-PCT programme are: How do we organise the system for the production of local knowledge and social technologies? How do we assess whether or not the guidelines for the CT&I policies are the most suitable for meeting the desired technical-scientific, economic and social goals? What elements are relevant in the discussion on gender in S&T activities? How can the relationship between universities and companies really transform the environment for the creation, use and disclosure of new knowledge, skills and technologies? In what manner do productive globalisation and the increasing weight of multinational companies change and affect innovation capacity and endogenous technological development? How do we address international cooperation relations in S&T? What is the global landscape of knowledge transfer today? How do we transform comparative advantages into competitive advantages in strategic areas (such as energy) and create wealth for the country? What instruments and public policies are most coherent and sustainable for the promotion of investment in R&D at private companies? How do we obtain planning, management and governance instruments in Research, Development and Innovation activities at companies, public research institutes and universities?
These issues have been addressed within the scope of disciplines and areas of consolidated knowledge such as Economics, Management, Sociology, Political Science, History, Anthropology and Philosophy. However, disciplinary processing tends to fragment the knowledge due to the fact it is conducted based on specific views and research methods. The PPG-PCT programme strives for an integrated vision of these issues through interdisciplinary processing, as a means of ensuring they are regarded as elements of a socio-technical, complex and particular dynamic system.
Goals
The goal of this programme is to train professionals from different areas to execute research, management and training activities and to execute public and private policies in the field of scientific and technological development and innovation. This goal is based on the fundamental principle that the evolution of Science and Technology is a social process and, as such, is conditioned by political, economic and social forces and phenomena. The analysis of this process and the creation of strategies and mechanisms guided by scenarios of social equality, economic development and environmental sustainability is the mission the programme intends to fulfill.
