THE GLOBAL DIMENSION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARKS: THE CASE OF TECNOPUC

The presence of a Science and Technology Park - TECNOPUC at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) represents the university, industry and government interaction, joining forces and fostering collaboration. Due to its excellence and commitment with innovation, TECNOPUC has received important awards and it is considered a remarkable experience in Brazil. Besides the set of benefits that the Park offers for all the companies, the highlight is for the strong commitment with RD&I (research, development & innovation) projects. Moreover, TECNOPUC favors a strong link with academia and fosters research mainly in the areas of information technology and communication, energy and the environment, life sciences and creative industry. The significant growth as an ecosystem of innovation increased the relationship between the park and its surrounding areas, allowing TECNOPUC to become reference not only in Brazil, but also beyond borders. Therefore, in the last years the park has put a lot of effort in the global dimension, including collaboration, networking, open innovation and internationalization, with the purpose of attracting new businesses and partnerships. For this reason, in this paper we present Global TECNOPUC, an innovative proposition that involves the construction of a new building and the development of several activities based on four dimensions in order to foster better synergy among people and knowledge sharing, and promoting the internationalization efforts of the park.