94
I. I. Berchin et al.
According to the interviewees 1, 3 and 13, Unisul operates as a living lab, incorporating innovative and sustainable practices in its campuses, in its research practices,
outreach programs and learning methods and environment, aiming to stimulate students’ development and qualification, as well as promoting the development of local
communities.
Interviewee 3 also stated that Unisul acts as a community actor, by promoting a
continuous dialogue with society, “either through outreach or through Unisul’s concerns that its applied researches benefits the society”. These practices occur through
Unisul’s concerns with the accessibility and inclusiveness of its actions for local
development, by offering scholarships, capacitation and training programs, community service through health support centers, legal and business consulting; in
addition to practices of internal sustainability, such as energy efficiency and solar
energy generation that can inspire changes in the surrounding communities’ behavior
(Interviewees 3 and 8). Thus, Unisul is also concerned with entrepreneurship and
technological and social innovation for sustainable development (Interviewee 3).
Considering the influence of university campuses in disseminating awareness and
ESD, Interviewee 1 understands that
today only in undergraduate courses we have more than 150 thousand citizens formed in by
our university, imagine all these people having the experience of a sustainable campus, it
would sensitize them in social and environmental terms, because these people are currently
working in companies, governmental agencies. They are here in our region, in other Brazilian
regions, and even in other regions of the world, so I have no doubt that the social impact of
sustainable practices are enormous (Interviewee 1).
With this same line of thought and also regarding the university’s relations with its
surrounding communities, Interviewee 13 considers that only in one of the Unisul’s
Campuses, in Pedra Branca, the university has about seven thousand students who
must be in the university for at least 3500 h. Therefore they should contribute to the
development of the university and the community in its surroundings, particularly
considering that these students and faculty have an impact in the community. Further
exploring this logic, these seven thousand students entering and leaving the campus,
make the traffic of the residents of that community unfeasible during class periods,
causing a direct impact on the lives of approximately twelve thousand inhabitants of
that neighborhood (Interviewee 13). Therefore, imbedding sustainability practices
in campus operations and within the community is necessary to stablish a good and
positive relation with the university’s surroundings.
Through sustainability practices on campus, students experience a practical learning, receiving knowledge and awareness to sustainable development, becoming disseminators and multipliers of these practices (Interviewees 2, 6 and 12). Thus, sustainability practices and infrastructure influence and inspire the internal community
and the community in the university surroundings (Interviewees 3, 8 and 12).
In addition to these practices, Interviewee 4 also recognizes that energy efficiency
and solar energy generation practices at Unisul’s campuses, in addition to reducing
energy bills, also promote students’ awareness to sustainability practices and technologies. Professors can also use these technologies and sustainable structures as
learning environments (e.g. electrical engineering professors who take students to
I. I. Berchin et al.
According to the interviewees 1, 3 and 13, Unisul operates as a living lab, incorporating innovative and sustainable practices in its campuses, in its research practices,
outreach programs and learning methods and environment, aiming to stimulate students’ development and qualification, as well as promoting the development of local
communities.
Interviewee 3 also stated that Unisul acts as a community actor, by promoting a
continuous dialogue with society, “either through outreach or through Unisul’s concerns that its applied researches benefits the society”. These practices occur through
Unisul’s concerns with the accessibility and inclusiveness of its actions for local
development, by offering scholarships, capacitation and training programs, community service through health support centers, legal and business consulting; in
addition to practices of internal sustainability, such as energy efficiency and solar
energy generation that can inspire changes in the surrounding communities’ behavior
(Interviewees 3 and 8). Thus, Unisul is also concerned with entrepreneurship and
technological and social innovation for sustainable development (Interviewee 3).
Considering the influence of university campuses in disseminating awareness and
ESD, Interviewee 1 understands that
today only in undergraduate courses we have more than 150 thousand citizens formed in by
our university, imagine all these people having the experience of a sustainable campus, it
would sensitize them in social and environmental terms, because these people are currently
working in companies, governmental agencies. They are here in our region, in other Brazilian
regions, and even in other regions of the world, so I have no doubt that the social impact of
sustainable practices are enormous (Interviewee 1).
With this same line of thought and also regarding the university’s relations with its
surrounding communities, Interviewee 13 considers that only in one of the Unisul’s
Campuses, in Pedra Branca, the university has about seven thousand students who
must be in the university for at least 3500 h. Therefore they should contribute to the
development of the university and the community in its surroundings, particularly
considering that these students and faculty have an impact in the community. Further
exploring this logic, these seven thousand students entering and leaving the campus,
make the traffic of the residents of that community unfeasible during class periods,
causing a direct impact on the lives of approximately twelve thousand inhabitants of
that neighborhood (Interviewee 13). Therefore, imbedding sustainability practices
in campus operations and within the community is necessary to stablish a good and
positive relation with the university’s surroundings.
Through sustainability practices on campus, students experience a practical learning, receiving knowledge and awareness to sustainable development, becoming disseminators and multipliers of these practices (Interviewees 2, 6 and 12). Thus, sustainability practices and infrastructure influence and inspire the internal community
and the community in the university surroundings (Interviewees 3, 8 and 12).
In addition to these practices, Interviewee 4 also recognizes that energy efficiency
and solar energy generation practices at Unisul’s campuses, in addition to reducing
energy bills, also promote students’ awareness to sustainability practices and technologies. Professors can also use these technologies and sustainable structures as
learning environments (e.g. electrical engineering professors who take students to