Science Park of the UFRJ
The Science Park of the UFRJ is located on the University City campus, in the Fundão Island, in an area of 350 thousand square meters (roughly 86 acres). Its purpose is to stimulate the interaction between the university - students and academic staff - and companies, transforming knowledge into employment and income through the provision of innovative products and services to society. Since its inauguration, investments in the Park have reached more than R$ 1 billion (roughly US$ 315 million). About 1,500 people currently work there.
The Park started its activities in 2003 with the inauguration of Coppe’s LabOceano, which has the world's deepest test tank and conducts research and testing for the oil and gas and naval industries. Currently, it houses research centers of 14 large companies and 7 small and medium. In addition to LabOceano, other laboratories from Coppe are installed in the Science Park: the Center of Excellence in Natural Gas (CEGN), the Nucleus of Ocean Structures (NEO) and the Laboratory of Computational Methods in Engineering (Lamce), where Coppe’s supercomputer is stored.
With the installation of the research centers of companies and the laboratories of Coppe, the Science Park has proven itself as a research and development center. Its concept provides that these laboratories work together with companies in the development of innovative solutions. Among the large companies installed in the Park are BG, FMC Technologies, EMC², Halliburton, Schlumberger, Siemens, Tenaris and Vallourec. In this innovative ecosystem, there are also the research centers of two other companies, GE and L'Oréal, located on the Island of Bom Jesus.