Professors from the Postgraduate Program in Institutional Process Management at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (PPGPI/UFRN) published the international chapter “Integrating Design, Project Management, and People Management in Sustainable and Innovative Learning Processes”.
The work was authored by professors Patrícia Borba Vilar Guimarães, Cynara Carvalho de Abreu, José Guilherme da Silva Santa Rosa and Josué Vitor de Medeiros Júnior. The chapter is part of the book Curriculum Development for Sustainable Development: Theory and Practice, published by Springer Nature, in the international collection World Sustainability Series, organized by Walter Leal Filho, Golda Edwin and Nandhivarman Muthu.
The publication presents an interdisciplinary experience developed within the scope of PPGPI, demonstrating how the integration between design, project management and people management can contribute to sustainable and innovative learning processes in a professional master's degree. The experience analyzed articulated theoretical knowledge and practical activities aimed at solving institutional problems, strengthening skills such as teamwork, systemic thinking and innovation capacity.
As a result of this training path, nine Technical-Technological Products (PTTs) were developed in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4 – Quality Education; SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production; and SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions.
The publication highlights the capacity of professional master's degrees, especially in the context of the Global South, to integrate curricular innovation, sustainability and production of applied solutions, with the potential to generate measurable impacts on institutions and society.
Published online in August 2026, the chapter represents yet another result of the joint action of PPGPI teachers and students, contributing to the internationalization and dissemination of academic and institutional practices developed at UFRN.
The publication can be accessed at:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22146-9_21
