Da universidade à comunidade: uma viagem pela divulgação científica nas ações extensionistas do Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia da UFPB Campus I

Abstract

Scientific outreach plays an important role in disseminating scientific knowledge produced in academic settings to the community in a simplified manner, using language adaptations for non-academic audiences. University Extension was created to serve as a bridge between the university and the community. This study aims to investigate the approach and use of scientific outreach in the extension activities of the Department of Systematics and Ecology at the Federal University of Paraíba, Campus I, through a data collection spanning from 2017 to 2023, considering the period of the COVID-19 pandemic during this timeframe. As a result of this study, projects with potential for scientific outreach were identified, but also many actions that fall short of this purpose. A total of 169 extension projects were found, among which 50 projects contained the keyword "Scientific Outreach." In projects containing the keyword, most citations are not within a coherent discussion context of Scientific Outreach as an area of study, but mere mentions. In light of this, it was found that there are both approaches and distances in university extension practices with scientific outreach, and some perspectives for improvement were addressed that could be applied in future proposals intending to carry out scientific outreach through university extension. Considering the analyses conducted in this study and expectations for future collaborations, potential areas for further investigation were identified. One of these areas includes understanding project coordinators' perceptions of Scientific Outreach and the methods employed to disseminate activity results. Broadening the focus beyond the projects analyzed in this study may provide a broader perspective on Scientific Outreach within the Department of Systematics and Ecology (DSE).