André Brasil

Advancing the evaluation of graduate programs in Brazil: A proposal for improvement of the courses’ assessment form and a study of suitable metrics and indicators for its application

Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, [email protected]

Supervisors: Prof. Sarah de Rijcke and Dr. Ed Noyons

Background

André Brasil works for the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES). He is currently on leave from his agency to investigate how to improve the country’s evaluation system, an important instrument to guarantee the development of Science & Technology in Brazil. For that, he counts with a multidisciplinary background, as he holds a masters degree in Public Policy and Development from the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), specialist degrees in Business Intelligence and in Teaching for Higher Education, as well as undergraduate degrees in Marketing and in Languages and Literature (Portuguese / Spanish).

Summary

The Brazilian System of Graduate Education (SNPG) is of the utmost importance for the development of Science & Technology in the country. Since its conception, this system has been the object of public policy in Brazil, and its evaluation is one of the main activities that guarantee the quality of courses and of the research they conduct. Under the responsibility of the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES), such evaluation is under constant improvement so that courses are assessed according to the most advanced instruments available at the time.

In order to contribute to the continuous evolution of assessment practices in Brazil, this PhD research aims to upgrade the instruments adopted for the evaluation in the country. That is a two-phase project, that must begin with a better understanding of the Brazilian research and graduate education model. In order to find better ways to value courses, it is important to consider the country’s trajectory and its reality today. It is also relevant to investigate its educational system, its governance practices and instruments, and other elements that might influence the second phase of the project: the development of a better evaluation model for the country’s reality.

To achieve the project’s objective, the adopted approach is to combine Scientometrics and Public Policy, so it is possible to recognise the effects of assessment over the Brazilian System of Research and Graduate Education, and then build a custom evaluation model that can value the country’s strengths while acknowledging and addressing its weaknesses.

Publications

Brasil, A. (2018). Exploring differences in scientific production originated from professional and academic graduate courses in Brazil. Presented at the 23rd International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Brandão, A., Villela, A. B. de C., Oliveira, C., Brasil, A., & Santos, A. (2018). Social network analysis and text mining to identify innovative research themes: supporting the Brazilian national agenda for research within graduate education. Presented at the 16th International Conference on Future-Oriented Technology Analysis FTA, Brussels, Belgium.

Brasil, A. (2010a). Fale bem, fale sempre. São Paulo: Universo dos Livros.

Brasil, A. (2010b). Tempo é muito mais que dinheiro. São Paulo: Universo dos Livros.

Brasil, A. (2005). Megamemória. São Paulo: Elsevier/Alegro.