U.InovAcelerator

Abstract

Following the reflection around the emergence of “research university” in the context of the slow but progressive increase in value of science and technology and research and development in Portugal, a study applied to the knowledge transfer and the process of innovation in the university, in the context of a master dissertation in information science (IS), study area of information management, is presented. The university is one of the most important institutions in the context of the national innovation system (SNI), being part of its mission the creation and transfer of knowledge. At the University of Porto (U.Porto), projects, such as the University of Porto Innovation unit (U.Porto Inovação) and the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto (UPTEC) seek to support the university's innovation value chain, promoting the reinforcement and solidification of knowledge transfer and of the relations between the university and companies, as well as the promotion and support to the creation of companies with a technological, scientific, and creative base, and the attraction of numerous innovation centers of national and international companies. This chapter points out an informational perspective on I&D+i (research and development and innovation) and entrepreneurship, based on the systemic theory and the quadripolar method, as theoretical and methodological guidance tools, and an information management/knowledge management approach of innovation models for the knowledge economy, the national and international referents, and corresponding set of indicators. An exploratory study, which allowed the identification of internal and external agents, the resources, the relations between actors and institutions, the processes and flows, and the main inputs and outputs, is presented. The most relevant result is embodied in a model of innovation indicators in an academic context and applied to the University of Porto.