The effectiveness of Junior Companies from the viewpoint of engineering students at a Brazilian University

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the activities of Junior Companies (JCs) at the College of Technological Science - CCT at the Santa Catarina State University (UDESC) as projects that give students real-world experience with the goal of describing these experiences from their own point of view. The observations were carried out in two junior companies, where one is mainly characterized by preparing projects and providing services to the community, and the second is focused on the provision of services related to quality tools and industrial management. It is believed that the junior company is a supplement to the classroom and provides experience in technical projects and developing human behaviors. Understanding the experience of the students as members of a JC is effective, allowing the university to assess whether there is value for the academic formation of the professional profile of future engineers, as well as to demonstrate to the students the contribution to their academic training. The methodology adopted in this research is descriptive and quali-quantitative. A survey was carried out with current students and alumni to identify the contribution to their academic training. Exploratory analysis was used to find the results of the effectiveness of the contributions of JCs in the formation of the professional profile from the point of view of the students. The results show student satisfaction regarding acquired knowledge, networking, obtaining internship recommendations, participation and the best time of admission to the JCs.