Inovação, Desenvolvimento Regional e Universidade: um estudo de caso sobre a Unifesspa.

The study analyzes the role of the Federal University of the South and Southeast of Pará (Unifesspa) as an institution within the development dynamics of the Carajás region, through a theoretical approach grounded in neo-schumpeterian Economic Theory, Evolutionary Economic Geography, and Neo-institutionalism. It critiques the limitations of conventional (neoclassical) approaches in explaining regional disparities, arguing that innovation, technological change, and the role of institutions should be central to the analysis of territorial development trajectories. The research adopts the concepts of the Regional Innovation System (RIS) and technological trajectories as key interpretative tools to understand the articulation among agents, capabilities, sources of innovation, and productive dynamics. The Carajás region is characterized by robust economic growth anchored in mining and agriculture, but also by persistent social inequalities, low institutional density, and weaknesses in the local innovation ecosystem. Through the analysis of the student profile and the insertion of Unifesspa graduates into the formal labor market, distinct mismatches between the qualifications provided by the university and the characteristics of the regional economy are identified. The methodology combines documentary and statistical analysis with data from official sources and institutional records. The results indicate that Unifesspa is a territorially embedded institution, both due to the predominantly regional geographic origin of its students and the fact that two-thirds of its graduates are employed in the Carajás region, mainly in typically non-market sectors, particularly public administration and education. Moreover, many alumni are not employed in areas related to their field of study. The research highlights that the RIS in Carajás is marked by major weaknesses, limited coordination among agents, and a predominance of exogenous and concentrative technological trajectories. In this context, Unifesspa still lacks coherent strategies aimed at fostering articulation, engagement, and the development of cooperation networks with key stakeholders, in order to ensure its effective integration into the highly fragile RIS. Such integration would help support technological trajectories that primarily rely on region-specific assets and, consequently, enable the university to more fully engage with socially embedded innovation and development dynamics.