The story of PTI began to be written well before its establishment. In 1995, Itaipu and the State University of West of Paraná (Unioeste) established a closer relationship with the aim of promoting technological development in western Paraná.

The guiding premise was the implementation of courses that provided support for the development of the region, focusing on issues related to the technological development of Itaipu and additionally promoting the generation of employment and income, the incorporation of technologies in processes and products of companies in the region and the creation of technology-based companies.

Without the rapprochement between Unioeste and Itaipu, it would have been difficult to have the initial kick-off for courses starting in the technological area. The technicians qualified to give technical support to the courses - their first professors - were, in their majority, staff of Itaipu Binational. The same approach was also needed to enable the laboratory base needed by the courses.

Under this consensus, on May 9th, 1995, the Technical and Scintific Cooperation and Integration Agreement was signed by Unioeste and Itaipu Binational. With a vision of centennial relationship, the agreement enabled the implementation of the Center for Engineering and Exact Sciences, with courses in computation (1995), electrical engineering (1998), mathematics (1998) and mechanical engineering (2002), on the campus of Unioeste in Foz do Iguaçu.

To better pass on the knowledge generated by the courses to the productive sector, in September 1996, Itaipu and Unioeste held the workshop for the implementation of the Institute of Applied Technology and Innovation (ITAI). In October of that year, the Institute was established and started to act as an instrument of integration for the region's agents of development.

Four years later, in September 2000, given the demand for actions in innovation and technology, another workshop discusses the creation of a Technology Park, as a natural consequence of the regional development process. The outcome of the workshop was compiled in a study that basically defined:

The International Technology Park of Iguassu is a project whose goal is to promote the establishment and development of education and research companies and institutions committed to the process of technological innovation - that is, by generation of ideas, based on scientific and technological knowledge and its transformation in products (goods, services and processes) that are innovative and competitive on the global market.

EXPANDING ITAIPU'S MISSION

In 2003, Itaipu, seeking to align its activities to government programs that addressed social and environmental responsibility actions and regional development, expanded its mission, which became:

'Generate quality power, with social and environmental responsibility, promoting sustainable economic, tourism and technological development in Brazil and Paraguay".

With the expansion of the mission, Itaipu, in addition to enhancing the requirement of power generation with quality, included in its strategic planning activities that drive sustainable development for the economy, tourism and technology in Brazil and Paraguay.

This set of actions allowed Unioeste, ITAI, Itaipu, municipalities and other organizations to feel supported in signing the letter of intent setting out the establishment of a Technology Park with the following concept:

"Innovative space that brings together projects and programs for social inclusion, job creation and income generation and the distribution of knowledge in all its levels, as well as the development and transfer of technologies, enabling exchanges of experience and integration between people for a better understanding and changing of their reality. "(Item 1 of the Letter of Intent signed at the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant, on 23/05/2003, by 36 Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities).

In August 2003, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the laying of the cornerstone for the creation of the park, formally named Itaipu Technological Park - PTI Brasil. In October of that same year, the activities started in the temporary facilities of the PTI, on the campus of Unioeste in Foz do Iguaçu, with operational support from ITAI.

INSTITUTIONALIZATION PARK

In March 2004, to validate the concept and define the goals of the new park, a participatory planning process is started, under the name of Regional Technology Development Plan, and five meetings were held, attended by over 500 participants belonging to more than 100 entities from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, defining the areas of activity of the park, based on the concept of the Establishment Charter.

The PTI preserved the concept that includes economic , tourism and technology development - stemming from the expansion of the mission of Itaipu, bringing together programs and projects targeted at education, science, technology and actions in generation of employment and income and job opportunities. As an agent of integration, innovation and inducer of development, the park begins to operate in partnership with professional support and development agencies and universities in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, focusing on the so-called Three Nation Region of Iguassu.

On April 1st, 2004, the Brazilian director general of Itaipu, Jorge Samek, officially started the construction of Itaipu Technological Park (PTI). During a solemn ceremony, the director gave the first blow on the walls of historic quarters of the workers who built Itaipu. Six months later, on October 12th, 2004, PTI was officially opened.

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