The Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) ranked 7th place nationally and 2nd place in the Southern region in the 2025 Higher Education Entrepreneurship Ranking (Ranking de IES Empreendedoras), which includes both public and private institutions from across Brazil. The official announcement was made on December 12 at 4 p.m. at the Federal Senate, in Brasília. During the same event, the university also received a best practices award for the Sinergia Program, developed within the Provost Office for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PROINOVA).
The President of UFSM, Luciano Schuch, attended the ceremony and highlighted the significance of the achievement. “It is highly meaningful and important, as it reflects the maturity with which we have been developing our ecosystem. Being ranked 7th in the country and 2nd in the Southern region, among more than 100 institutions, shows how advanced and consolidated we are in innovation and entrepreneurship,” he emphasized.
According to Schuch, the result reflects the integrated efforts of the InovaTec Technology Park, the Pulsar Incubator, the Provost Office for Extension (PROINOVA), and UFSM junior enterprises, which have strengthened the innovation ecosystem and generated direct impacts on both the academic community and the market. “Through innovation and extension, we are able to reach the community and the market very quickly, generating quality of life and contributing to economic development in our country,” he noted.
The President also stressed that the engagement of the academic community has been decisive: “These results are reflected in our daily university life: more engaged students, students with purpose. I can only thank our entire community for working toward increasing visibility in national and international rankings.”
Continuous growth in the Higher Education Entrepreneurship Ranking
The Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Daniel Bernardon, explained that UFSM has shown steady growth in recent editions of the ranking. UFSM reached 11th place in 2023 and, in 2025, advanced four positions to 7th place – even with a large increase in the number of participating institutions.
He noted that the ranking evaluates several dimensions, such as incubators, technology parks, technology transfer, intellectual property, licensing, industry collaboration projects, and entrepreneurship education. “It reflects the maturity of our system and the breadth of our activities. Today, in most rankings, we are already classified as a consolidated ecosystem in innovation and entrepreneurship,” he stated.
According to Bernardon, this recognition is directly linked to the university’s strategic planning and to the strengthening of PROINOVA, which was created to coordinate innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across four dimensions: technological, social, entrepreneurial, and public management. “Innovation is not limited to major projects or large-scale monetization. We are talking about purposeful innovation, capable of transforming territories and reaching society,” he explained.
Looking ahead, one of the main priorities is to democratize innovation by engaging groups that do not yet see themselves as part of this movement. “We will focus strongly on segments that are not yet fully engaged with innovation, showing that they also have space in its many forms,” he added.
UFSM sent a delegation to the Higher Education Entrepreneurship event, including the President of the university, members of PROINOVA – among them Professor Carmen Brum, Maurício Coffy, and Professor Marta Rovedder, one of the pioneers of the Sinergia Program.
Sinergia Program receives national best practices award
Created at UFSM and currently coordinated by PROINOVA, the Sinergia Program was recognized at the event as an example of best practices in innovation and entrepreneurship. The initiative connects companies based in the Pulsar Incubator and the InovaTec Technology Park with undergraduate and graduate students, who work on real-world challenges presented by industry partners.
Carmen Brum, Coordinator of Entrepreneurship Education at PROINOVA, explained that Sinergia operates as a bridge between the university and society. “Sinergia allows companies within UFSM’s innovation ecosystem to present real demands, and students – under faculty supervision – to address them within their courses. This ensures that academic knowledge transcends theoretical boundaries,” she said.
Among its concrete outcomes, she highlighted:
patent filings with the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), including one application already submitted and another in progress, resulting from projects with the startup company Spray Solutions;
a functional 3D-printed prototype developed in 2023 by Industrial Design students and tested by real users;
the development of an API by Software Project students for the startup company Qiron Robotics, which led to the hiring of one participating student;
positive feedback from companies, which consider the solutions comparable to specialized consulting services and plan to implement the improvements proposed by students.
In addition to strengthening students’ practical training, the program enhances companies’ competitiveness and contributes to the regional innovation ecosystem. “Sinergia reinforces UFSM’s reputation as an institution committed to innovation, entrepreneurship, and real-world impact,” emphasized the coordinator.
Next steps
Following this national recognition, the Sinergia Program plans to expand to additional undergraduate and graduate programs and courses, increase the number of partner companies, and consolidate its results by transforming prototypes and solutions into licensed products or intellectual property assets.
For Carmen, growth also means reinforcing the program’s role in regional development. “By generating solutions and supporting startups, Sinergia fosters regional entrepreneurship and contributes to the economic and technological development of the region,” she concluded.
Text: Marina Brignol, Journalism student and News Agency intern.
Photos: Personal archive
Editing: Ricardo Bonfanti