A NEW SERVICE CONCEPT FOR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES: REDEFINING THE INDISSOCIABILITY OF TEACHING, RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the concept of services in public universities. To achieve this, an exploratory research was conducted at a federal public university in the country, using a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews with
managers in strategic positions within the institution, as well as an analysis of the citizen service charter published by the university. The content analysis of the data
obtained through semi-structured interviews and documentary research led to the identification of five categories of analysis: multiple levels of user participation; technology exchange between core activities; heterogeneous logic of service management; support activities as integrated services; technologies for generating public and private value; promotion of competitive advantage in companies. The data collection enabled the understanding of the elements that constitute the role of the public university, whether in the form of its core macro-processes of teaching, research, and extension, or in the form of support services, and it brought
forth a novel concept of what can be considered, in essence, as services in a Federal Higher Education Institution. The services provided by federal public universities go beyond the activities of teaching, research, and extension, as they also offer access
to a knowledge base that extends beyond the technical and human capacities within their organizational boundaries, due to their interfaces with actors from the academic or productive sectors. This occurs both in terms of incorporating new
methodologies through the provision of services to companies and in situations
where there is interaction with society.