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1.INTRODUCTION
The current developmental dynamics in the world economy are strongly influenced by the consolidation of a new technical-economic paradigm, where the globalization of the economy leads the productive sector to increase its effort in the quest for competitiveness. This factor has been an essential element for the modernization of the national productive park with the purpose of expanding its participation in the international trade of goods and services. Coupled to this concept, technological innovation is another influential factor in the current economic development scenario, which is understood here as the transformation of knowledge into products, processes and services that may be placed on the market - which has become increasingly important for the socioeconomic development of countries and regions. Carefully formulated measures are therefore needed to encourage scientific and technological activities in alignment with the demands of the productive sector to expand the industrial structures with conditions to operate in a globalized market (Brazil, 2002).
Innovation and technological progress are the result of a complex set of relationships between actors, producing, distributing and applying knowledge from different fields (Meyer et al, 2014). The interaction between universities and the productive sector is essential for the innovation process, merging knowledge transfer with useful techniques for technological development in industry (Benedetti & Torkomian, 2011).
The Triple Helix Model described by Etzkowitz (2009) suggests that the key to innovation and growth in a knowledge-based economy lies in the interaction between universities, industry and the government. Physically, this model can be applied to economies through venture capital firms, science and technology parks and business incubators.
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