Sondotécnica is the newest member of the Technological Park of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), an environment of innovation within the institution that aims to promote interaction between university – students and technical-academic staff – and companies.
Sondotécnica’s association with the UFRJ Technological Park seeks to generate connections that enhance the transformation of knowledge into innovation. The sustainable development of society, one of the objectives of the University’s program, is also a pillar of the company. The company is the leader in engineering consulting in Brazil, with around 3 thousand projects executed and more than 400 clients served.
“We are pioneers in engineering and infrastructure and we believe that we have a lot to contribute to this process. We also want to be linked to UFRJ projects that bet on technological evolution as a way of improving our inhabited environment. At the Technological Park, companies find the infrastructure and specialized knowledge needed to overcome business challenges”, adds Stefania Dimitrov, BIM and Innovation manager at Sondotécnica.
Opened in 2003, the UFRJ Technological Park houses research centers for large, national and multinational companies, as well as small, medium and startups. The project carries out activities that stimulate the relationship between resident organizations and other stakeholders. The Park also works to help expand the companies’ networking and encourage entrepreneurship through business management and fundraising activities.
“We created the Associadas Program to tune in to an irreversible trend: breaking down physical barriers. Thanks to the program, companies from all over the planet can integrate the Park as ‘virtual residents’, that is, without the need for physical installation. The arrival of Sondotécnica certainly represents a win-win relationship: the company starts to enjoy all the advantages of being our Associate, such as, for example, the solution of technological challenges based on the knowledge generated at UFRJ; and we now have in our innovation ecosystem a company with Sondotécnica’s expertise”, emphasizes the director of the UFRJ Technological Park, Vicente Ferreira. This environment of innovation provided by UFRJ adds to the work carried out by Sondotécnica. Founded in 1954 with the initial objective of working in the areas of investigation and soil drilling, Sondotécnica has, over time, expanded its range of services. With the strong investment in research, training and qualification, the company diversified its area of operation and today is a leader in several infrastructure segments such as transport, sanitation, urbanization, energy, industry, environment and irrigation. Always focused on technological innovation, Sondotécnica is today a reference in the market for the use of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Geographic Information System) solutions for the representation of its projects. The BIM and GIS solutions applied by Sondotécnica in highway and sanitation projects have been recognized, resulting in participation in national and international seminars and winning awards in the area of innovation. “We believe that the partnership will contribute to innovation that makes a difference to the residents of our cities. As an example, we have challenges in creating mobile applications that can collaborate with fieldwork, even defining appropriate criteria for the development of specific projects, such as slum upgrading, among others”, adds Stefania Dimitrov.