92
I. I. Berchin et al.
3 Methods
This study uses a qualitative approach to collect and analyze the necessary data to
achieve its goal, “to understand how sustainable campuses, as living labs, promote
innovations for sustainable development through the case of a Brazilian Community
University”. The University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul) was chosen as a
case study. Unisul is a community university in South Brazil, which demonstrates
its commitment with sustainability and social development.
Unisul was founded in 1964, in the state of Santa Catarina, in South Brazil.
Currently, the university has nearly 30 thousand students and thousands of faculty and
staffs, which collaborates to establish the relevance of its actions towards sustainable
development in the communities where the university operates (Unisul 2015).
As a community university, Unisul is a non-profit institution with social responsibility, devoted to public use and committed to education, social welfare and student
development (Unisul 2015; Teixeira 1994). Thus, sustainable development is a core
value amidst Unisul’s institutional objectives, aiming to stimulate economic development coupled with environmental preservation, social justice, sustainability and
innovation. Moreover, in order to promote quality education, research and innovation, Unisul upholds a network of national and international partnerships with
stakeholders and other relevant global HEIs (Unisul 2015; Berchin et al. 2018).
This study used the semi-structured interviews method to collect the data. In order
to be representative, 15 collaborators were interviewed, including: the Unisul’s Dean;
the Pro-rector of Teaching, Research, Graduation, Outreach and Innovation; all the
campuses administrations; HEIs managers on Education, Research, Outreach and
Innovation, responsible for the Environmental Education Policy of Unisul, and other
employees indicated by them. The Interviewees were coded from Interviewee 1 to
Interviewee 15.
The open-ended questions of the questionnaire (Table 2) were based on the literature. The categories used for creating and organizing the interviews were: teaching,
research, outreach, campus operations and management (Berchin et al. 2018; Guerra
et al. 2016).
To analyze the data from the semi-structured interviews, we followed the indications of Bardin (2011), which are pre-analysis, when the interviews are transcribed
and reviewed; material exploration, when an in-depth analysis of the collected material takes place; and subjective interpretation of the research outcomes, through the
analysis and comparison among the propositions stated on the current scientific literature.
Based on the literature, the categories used for organizing and analyzing the interviews were: teaching, research, outreach, campus operations and management. Thus,
after analyzing the interviews, and for the aims of this study, we organized Unisul’s
practices as livings labs for sustainable development according to the categories
mapped in the literature: sustainable buildings and facilities, creative and collaborative environments, collaboration and knowledge dissemination, and outreach.
I. I. Berchin et al.
3 Methods
This study uses a qualitative approach to collect and analyze the necessary data to
achieve its goal, “to understand how sustainable campuses, as living labs, promote
innovations for sustainable development through the case of a Brazilian Community
University”. The University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul) was chosen as a
case study. Unisul is a community university in South Brazil, which demonstrates
its commitment with sustainability and social development.
Unisul was founded in 1964, in the state of Santa Catarina, in South Brazil.
Currently, the university has nearly 30 thousand students and thousands of faculty and
staffs, which collaborates to establish the relevance of its actions towards sustainable
development in the communities where the university operates (Unisul 2015).
As a community university, Unisul is a non-profit institution with social responsibility, devoted to public use and committed to education, social welfare and student
development (Unisul 2015; Teixeira 1994). Thus, sustainable development is a core
value amidst Unisul’s institutional objectives, aiming to stimulate economic development coupled with environmental preservation, social justice, sustainability and
innovation. Moreover, in order to promote quality education, research and innovation, Unisul upholds a network of national and international partnerships with
stakeholders and other relevant global HEIs (Unisul 2015; Berchin et al. 2018).
This study used the semi-structured interviews method to collect the data. In order
to be representative, 15 collaborators were interviewed, including: the Unisul’s Dean;
the Pro-rector of Teaching, Research, Graduation, Outreach and Innovation; all the
campuses administrations; HEIs managers on Education, Research, Outreach and
Innovation, responsible for the Environmental Education Policy of Unisul, and other
employees indicated by them. The Interviewees were coded from Interviewee 1 to
Interviewee 15.
The open-ended questions of the questionnaire (Table 2) were based on the literature. The categories used for creating and organizing the interviews were: teaching,
research, outreach, campus operations and management (Berchin et al. 2018; Guerra
et al. 2016).
To analyze the data from the semi-structured interviews, we followed the indications of Bardin (2011), which are pre-analysis, when the interviews are transcribed
and reviewed; material exploration, when an in-depth analysis of the collected material takes place; and subjective interpretation of the research outcomes, through the
analysis and comparison among the propositions stated on the current scientific literature.
Based on the literature, the categories used for organizing and analyzing the interviews were: teaching, research, outreach, campus operations and management. Thus,
after analyzing the interviews, and for the aims of this study, we organized Unisul’s
practices as livings labs for sustainable development according to the categories
mapped in the literature: sustainable buildings and facilities, creative and collaborative environments, collaboration and knowledge dissemination, and outreach.