The interaction of university with the productive sector through university extension: Actor engagement and interaction characteristics

The interaction of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with external sectors tends to be characterized as “third mission”. This employs a theoretical-empirical analysis of the HEIs’ third mission, carried out through university extension. This approach makes this study more original, as studies on third mission usually employ applied research instead of extension as means. The general objective was to analyze the interactions established, the characteristics of the engagement and the results achieved by the higher education institution regarding its relationship with the productive sector via university extension activities. The research was conducted at the Federal Institute of Tocantins (IFTO), a public institution that offers basic, vocational and higher education, located in Northern Brazil. This is a qualitative case study, carried out through documental analysis and in-depth interviews. Results showed that university extension is an important gateway for the productive sector to innovative technologies through the intervention of academic actors. Regarding the supply-demand relationship, supply logic (top down) prevails. We highlight that the engagement of extension workers (internal actors) in third mission activities takes place due to personal, institutional and socio-economic factors. However, several internal factors that contribute to discouraging these professionals were verified.