Strategic Planning
Elaboration Process and Temporal Dynamics
In 2020, the Graduate Program in Civil Engineering (PPGEC) at UFV initiated the adoption of a systematic strategic planning model based on four-year cycles. The Strategic Planning Policy was established with broad participation from the academic community—including faculty, students, technical staff, and alumni—and dictates annual evaluations led by a representative program committee. The policy review for the 2025–2028 quadrennium was finalized in the first half of 2024, strengthening the biennial self-evaluation and utilizing quantitative indicators for continuous monitoring.
Integration with Institutional Planning
PPGEC’s strategic planning aligns with UFV’s Institutional Development Plan (PDI 2024–2029), particularly across the core dimensions of Research, Graduate Education, Internationalization, and Innovation. Additionally, the program collaborates with institutional milestones related to professional training, community outreach, culture, and sustainability. Engaging with these overarching goals ensures institutional coherence and amplifies the impact of planned actions.
Methodology and Tools
The strategic planning was informed by a SWOT analysis, CAPES assessments, and internal self-evaluation reports. Based on these insights, strategic and operational goals were outlined alongside performance indicators with annual targets. All efforts were organized into a detailed action plan establishing coordinators, timelines, rationales, methods, and budgets. The adopted model emphasizes decentralized and participatory management, incorporating the SEI and Sucupira systems as core support tools.
Objectives and Actions by Strategic Axis
Academic Training and Curriculum Design
A comprehensive restructuring of the curriculum was established, encompassing the creation and discontinuation of specific courses, expanding English-taught course offerings, and deploying systematic evaluations by both faculty and students. The objective is to promote interdisciplinary exchange across areas and align training with contemporary professional demands.
Knowledge Production
PPGEC aims to increase peer-reviewed publications in top-tier high-impact journals, expand technical and technological outputs, and maximize the proportion of theses and dissertations directly associated with scientific publications. Initiatives such as academic awards and technical training are planned to incentivize these results.
Internationalization
Targets focus on increasing student and faculty involvement in academic exchange programs, dual-degree tracks, and global research partnerships, alongside welcoming international members onto dissertation committees. Global program dissemination and foreign-language course offerings have been intensified.
Innovation and Technology Transfer
Actions are scheduled to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, including support for startups, patent applications, and broadening technical productions with immediate practical application. Strengthening ties with Centev and developing entrepreneurship courses underpin this dimension.
Infrastructure and Funding
The plan outlines proactive grant-seeking strategies through public calls and private partnerships, focusing on funding research projects, securing student stipends, and upgrading laboratory infrastructure. Expanding facilities like the PMS lab and leveraging funding from agencies such as FINEP and DNIT represent concrete milestones.
Program Consolidation
The objective is to increase program appeal, lower attrition rates, optimize time-to-degree periods, and promote closer integration among concentration areas. Planned actions include student support initiatives, improvements to the admissions process, and encouraging engagement in internal academic events.
Faculty Development and Performance Tracking
Faculty performance is monitored annually based on intellectual production and adherence to institutional and regimental standards. Graduate students are assessed semi-annually regarding academic standing and graduation deadlines. Established metrics will be analyzed by concentration area to identify specific demands and prioritize localized interventions.
Faculty Renewal
The faculty renewal policy achieved significant results over the last quadrennium with the inclusion of five Young Permanent Professors (JDPs), reinforcing strategic research lines. This continuous process is governed by academic production metrics and program involvement, and will be further refined during the regimental review scheduled for 2025.
Summary of Expectations and Monitoring
The 2025–2028 strategic planning milestones are distributed by core dimensions and detailed through annual performance indicators. Monitoring will be systematic, with routine data updates in Sucupira and formal process tracking via SEI. The proposed actions aim to guarantee sustainable growth, high-quality professional training, substantial social and scientific impact, and heightened program prominence at national and international levels.