RESEARCH INITIATION PROGRAM (PIP/UFG): SERVICE INDICATORS AND THE IMPACT OF THE TRANSPANDEMIC

Abstract

Scientific initiation plays an essential role in fostering student engagement in research activities, contributing to the training of professionals capable of facing contemporary challenges through the application of knowledge acquired in higher education institutions. In this article, the impacts of the pandemic on the participation of students linked to the Scientific, Technological, and Innovation Research Initiation Program (PIP) at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) were analyzed, focusing on the Institute of Chemistry (IQ) and during the emergency remote teaching period (ERE), in comparison to the periods before and after this teaching modality. The study was based on the analysis of reports made available by the Dean of Research and Innovation (PRPI) for the years 2018/2019 (pre-ERE), 2020/2021 (during ERE), and 2022 (post-ERE). The data were organized into three scenarios with exploratory, association, and multivariate approaches. The results revealed an association (χ² = 5.53; p = 0.06) between the number of scholarships awarded to IQ and the years surrounding the ERE period. It was found that the percentage of scholarships during the ERE (64%) was lower (p < 0.03) than that observed in the pre-ERE period (80%). However, no differences were detected in the number of scholarships awarded between the ERE and the subsequent period, indicating that the effects of the pandemic also had repercussions in the post-ERE period. Students covered by the PIP, in the IQ, were distributed among fourteen undergraduate courses at UFG, with a predominance of bachelor's degrees (68%; n = 124) and teaching degrees (18%; n = 32) in Chemistry. Considering the same students in different cycles of participation in the PIP (n = 40), high fidelity to a single advisor was observed (90%; n = 36), with 22% of students remaining in the program for two years or more. The investigation revealed the importance of the PIP in student training and, in particular, the program's role in strengthening academic activities, improving personal development, consolidating a collaborative perspective on science, and promoting the process of professional socialization. The students joined the program in different modalities of scientific, technological, and innovation initiation, competing or not for institutional scholarships offered by the PIP.