Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Educational Ecosystems: A Multiphase Planning Framework for the Brazilian National Globe Olympiad
Knowledge and technology transfer; Educational ecosystems; Science education; Educational innovation.
Knowledge and technology transfer within educational ecosystems has assumed a strategic role in connecting teaching, research, and innovation, especially when oriented toward solving complex socio-environmental problems. However, many educational Olympiads are still organized around models centered on one-off content assessments, with limited formative reach and reduced potential for effective knowledge transfer. This dissertation analyzes the Brazilian National GLOBE Olympiad as an innovative model of institutional and pedagogical design, conceived as a multi-phase strategic planning structure for knowledge and technology transfer integrated into an expanded educational ecosystem. The study aims to investigate how the sequential and cumulative organization of the Olympiad’s phases fosters learning processes, the production of applied knowledge, and the development of scientific, communicational, and argumentative competencies. Methodologically, this is a qualitative, applied study developed through an analysis of the design, implementation, and educational products generated within the Brazilian National GLOBE Olympiad. The investigation is grounded in the educational ecosystems approach and in the perspective of knowledge and technology transfer in non-business contexts, viewing the Olympiad as a structured environment for learning, data production, and educational innovation. As a contribution, the research proposes a structured knowledge and technology transfer model as an educational product, replicable in school contexts, with a focus on encouraging practice-based research, data-driven learning, and the integration of teaching, scientific inquiry, and socio-environmental problem solving—thereby promoting the incorporation of a scientific and investigative culture into students’ everyday educational experience. The Olympiad’s methodological structure includes systematic environmental data collection, continuous monitoring, and the progressive adaptation of scientific protocols, culminating in a collective in situ immersion phase. In this stage, teams conduct fieldwork in estuarine environments, applying standardized methodologies and generating environmental datasets. The process culminates in the development and presentation of evidence-based intervention plans, evaluated at the university level, highlighting the Olympiad’s potential as a structured mechanism—replicable to local contexts—for knowledge and technology transfer within educational ecosystems.