Considered essential for regional development, federal public universities have consolidated
their role as protagonists by pointing out efficient solutions to social problems. In this
perspective, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need for these universities
to reinvent their respective teaching-learning processes, as well as to innovate in the
development of quality scientific research, invest in technology, and also engage in community
service and cultural promotion. This research aimed to investigate how public universities in
the Northern Region of Brazil acted in the face of the challenges experienced during the
COVID-19 pandemic. As research procedures, interviews with managers, analysis of
documents, news, and web pages were conducted, as well as the systematic review of literature.
Thus, it was possible to identify the alternatives that academic management adopted to ensure
the maintenance of higher education during this period. With the methodology used to analyze
the collected data, both through documentary research and content analysis of the statements of
the interviewed managers, it was possible to conclude that the surveyed Federal Higher
Education Institutions (IFES) reassumed their roles in society by acting towards the
development of the regions in which they are located through the production of science in
different areas of knowledge, seeking solutions to local challenges, and contributing to regional
development.
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