The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) held, this Tuesday, the 20th, the inauguration ceremony of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Public Policies (IPP), linked to the Center for Human Sciences, Letters and Arts (CCHLA). The specialized academic unit was created on July 26th, with the mission of becoming a reference at the state level and the proposal to carry out new activities, such as offering sequential courses and implementing residency and specialization in the area of public policies.
The director of the IPP, Lindijane de Souza Bento Almeida, and the vice-director, Alexsandro Ferreira Cardoso da Silva, were sworn in by the rector of UFRN, José Daniel Diniz Melo, who highlighted the importance of the moment for the University, given that the sector's objectives include promoting innovation in the public sector, through the exchange of experiences between state, municipal and federal governments. In this sense, the manager also recalled other recent advances by UFRN in academic excellence, as the number of undergraduate courses with concept 4 or 5 (maximum grades) increased from 45.5%, in 2017, to 56.1%, in 2021, as well as postgraduate studies doubled the number of programs with maximum grades.
The new director of the IPP, Lindijane Almeida, thanked and assumed “the commitment to carry out collective work to consolidate, innovate, expand, democratize, regionalize and internationalize this Institution [UFRN] which has been the greatest instrument of development in Rio Grande do Norte”. To this end, the professor committed to consolidating the Institute, with the aim of contributing to a less unequal, more fair and democratic Rio Grande do Norte.
About IPP
The Institute of Public Policies (IPP) arises from the merger of the Department of Public Policies (DPP) with the Advanced Center for Public Policies (NAPP) and the Urban and Regional Planning Laboratory (Labplan), in order to expand the perspectives of contributions that UFRN can generate at the regional level, through integration into an academic unit with the technical capacity to implement new projects.
The teaching staff, already shared between the units, presents production directly related to public policies, with strong national and international research networks, in addition to support through partnerships and agreements. The institute maintains an undergraduate course in Public Policy Management and the Postgraduate Program in Urban and Regional Studies (PPEUR), consisting of a master's degree and a doctorate.
The unit has the strategic guidelines of offering integrated, multidisciplinary, flexible and wide-ranging training; carry out scientific research, as well as extension actions that promote innovation in the public sector, based on residence in the area; promote and support the emergence of innovative initiatives, through plans, programs and projects to encourage social, sustainable and democratic development.
The objectives include carrying out extension and innovation activities; promote the prospecting of talents in Public Policy Management and Urban and Regional Studies; consolidate UFRN's insertion as a reference in the area of public policies and contribute to internationalization as an institution of excellence in its field of knowledge, in addition to other purposes.
Photo: Cicero Oliveira