Study identifies ways to strengthen entrepreneurship at Coppe

Survey identifies barriers and opportunities for expanding the transformation of scientific knowledge into startups, technologies, and impactful solutions

Entrepreneurship based on scientific research is a trend that has been gaining traction at universities and among students and researchers. At Coppe/UFRJ, this journey began more than three decades ago with the creation of the Business Incubator in 1994 and has given rise to new initiatives over the years. Now, the institution seeks to understand how to expand this movement and ensure that more research results reach the market and society in the form of technologies, startups, and impactful solutions.

To guide this effort, Coppe’s Technology and Innovation Directorate, in partnership with the Business Incubator, conducted the survey “Por que não se empreende mais na Coppe?” (Why aren’t there more entrepreneurial initiatives at Coppe?) The survey interviewed students, alumni, professors, technical staff, researchers, and entrepreneurs affiliated with the Incubator with the goal of understanding the obstacles to entrepreneurship and identifying opportunities to increase the creation of startups and spin-offs based on research conducted at the institution.

Rather than merely highlighting challenges, the results help establish an action plan, including internal discussions at the institution to determine which measures to implement and how. Among the main suggestions put forward by participants are the development of an entrepreneurship training program at Coppe, mentioned by 61.4% of respondents, and the sharing of Coppe’s laboratories and resources with startups, mentioned by 50.9%.

Other suggestions included the creation of a specific incentive for entrepreneurship at Coppe and the development of an accelerator program to support the structuring of business models for startups and spin-offs. One of the reasons for the lack of entrepreneurship at the institution, pointed out by 81.5% of respondents, is the lack of an entrepreneurial mindset among students, with this issue ranking among the top four challenges.

According to Thiago Aragão, deputy director of Technology and Innovation at Coppe, the institution has great potential for fostering entrepreneurs. “We are part of a vibrant innovation ecosystem, which is the institution’s laboratory complex. So, we need to encourage our community to develop their entrepreneurial spirit, and to that end, we conducted this survey to understand how we can make even better use of the resources we already have.”

A journey that has already begun

The movement to strengthen entrepreneurship is not starting from scratch. The Coppe Business Incubator was created in 1994, becoming one of the institution’s pioneering initiatives in closing the gap between research, innovation, and the market.

Over the years, other initiatives have expanded this ecosystem. Among them are social entrepreneurship initiatives, the creation of the Biotech Hub in partnership with companies in the sector, and the organization of hackathons and programs focused on innovation. Coppe also boasts a large-scale laboratory infrastructure and scientific expertise in strategic areas, creating unique conditions for the development of science-based technologies and businesses.

The challenge identified by the research is, therefore, less about creating an entrepreneurial environment and more about expanding, connecting, and making existing opportunities more accessible, thereby creating new possibilities for researchers and students to transform their knowledge and research findings into ventures. This is achieved through the development of an entrepreneurial mindset.

For Professor Luiz Landau, coordinator of Lamce, leaving technologies with application potential at the university without seeking ways to bring them to market represents a missed opportunity. “I’m a fan of entrepreneurship. I think it’s a waste of talent to put what’s developed in labs during thesis work—and which has product characteristics—on a shelf and leave it there,” he says.

Landau acknowledges, however, that turning a technology into a business requires skills that are not always part of a researcher’s training. “Several successful startups have emerged from our lab, but, generally speaking, I know that some don’t make it. This isn’t due to technological issues, but largely to the lack of support for a startup. We are researchers and scientists, not investors or business managers. So, what was actually missing was this link, which is now beginning to be filled by a series of initiatives, because it has become clear that we are falling behind in terms of entrepreneurship and the creation of startups,” he explains.

The new role of the university

This movement is part of a broader transformation in the role of universities. In addition to producing knowledge and training professionals, research institutions are increasingly being encouraged to contribute to innovation, new businesses, and economic and social impact. “The challenge of the new economy is to accelerate the conversion of R&D&I knowledge into market assets, such as companies. And universities have much to contribute in this regard, notably Coppe, which has been developing projects for industry for decades,” explains Lilian Migon Matt, ecosystem leader at the Coppe Incubator. She was responsible for the technical structuring of the research, using a methodology established and developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

At the same time, career opportunities for students and researchers have also diversified. Founding a deep-tech company, participating in a spin-off, transferring technology to the market, or developing a solution in partnership with companies have become part of the professional landscape for many researchers, alongside the traditional academic path.

In this context, incubators, technology parks, innovation agencies, companies, investors, training programs, and mentoring networks are playing an important role in building an ecosystem capable of bridging the gaps between science, entrepreneurship, and the market. For Thiago, the research helps identify exactly where Coppe can make progress. “We have important initiatives, but we need to better connect them and create conditions so that more people at Coppe can learn about and access the entrepreneurship tools available.”

What the research shows

Participants identified various factors that hinder the development of entrepreneurial initiatives at Coppe. Among the main ones are:

• 59.6% blame lack of incentives to reward entrepreneurship
• 49.1% mention difficulty in accessing venture capital
• 42.1% mention the lack of an entrepreneurial mindset among students, with a focus on publishing papers
• 40.4% identify the weak connection between companies and startups

The results show that the challenge lies not only in individuals’ willingness to become entrepreneurs. It is necessary to foster an environment that brings researchers together with mentors, investors, companies, and other stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, as well as to raise awareness about the support tools already available.

Identified opportunities

The survey also asked participants what initiatives could help strengthen entrepreneurship at Coppe.

• 61.4% support the creation of an entrepreneurship training program
• 50.9% suggest sharing laboratories and their capabilities with startups

Other proposals include the creation of a specific incentive for entrepreneurship and an acceleration program to support the development of business models for startups and spin-offs.

Energy: a potential yet to be explored

One area where this potential is particularly evident is Energy, one of Coppe’s main areas of expertise, but one that still accounts for a relatively small share of startup and deep tech creation.

According to data from Emerge Brasil’s Radar Deep Techs 2025, presented in the study, only 6.9% of Brazilian deep-tech companies focus on energy and sustainability, while sectors such as health and wellness, agriculture, and food account for a larger share.

For Coppe, expanding its capacity to transform knowledge into ventures in this area represents a strategic opportunity, especially in light of the challenges related to the energy transition and decarbonization.

This issue is particularly relevant because technologies developed at universities and research centers may require longer development cycles and greater investments before reaching the market. Creating mechanisms capable of supporting this journey is one of the challenges facing the innovation ecosystem.

Connecting Coppe to the ecosystem

Another point highlighted by the study is the need to strengthen Coppe’s ties with UFRJ’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

This involves strengthening connections with entities such as Inova UFRJ, the Technology Park, and other university units, such as Coppead and the Polytechnic School. At the same time, it is necessary to expand relationships with external stakeholders, such as companies, investors, entrepreneurs, government agencies, funding agencies, and other research institutions.

“It’s a collaboration that can help build engagement with stakeholders aligned with the collective goal of developing deep tech—not only at Coppe, but in Brazil as a whole. These are stakeholders who have contributed to the economic development of regions around the world, based on collective priorities capable of generating value and local impact,” says Lilian Migon. She also points out that the survey revealed the need to expand the community’s own knowledge of tools to support entrepreneurship and to better understand the profile of those currently pursuing entrepreneurship at the institution. One example is Faperj’s “Doutor Empreendedor” program, among other initiatives from funding agencies.

From research to action

Conducted between April and July 2026, the study was structured in three stages, using a methodology developed at MIT. Initially, a focus group was formed with 11 participants, bringing together entrepreneurs residing at the Incubator, students, faculty members, and researchers with entrepreneurial potential, as well as faculty members who already have entrepreneurial experience. The contributions from this group informed the design of an online survey, which received 57 responses from the Coppe community. In the third stage, 27 individual interviews were conducted, which helped validate the “findings” from the previous stages.

Based on the results, the Office of Technology and Innovation, through the Business Incubator, is evaluating new initiatives to strengthen entrepreneurship at the institution.

The goal is to move forward in a coordinated manner, leveraging the structures and experience that Coppe already possesses and creating new connections between science, business, and society. “We have to strike a balance between academic activity and creating new pathways so that the knowledge produced at Coppe reaches the market and society. The research has provided us with concrete elements to move in this direction,” concludes Thiago Aragão.

The survey thus represents a starting point for a new phase: expanding Coppe’s entrepreneurial culture, strengthening its ecosystem, and creating more opportunities so that the knowledge produced at the institution can also be transformed into companies, technologies, and impactful solutions.