Coppe brings PhD program in Industrial Engineering to the interior of Amazonas, fostering regional development
Planeta COPPE / Industrial Engineering / News
Date: 21/08/2025

The Industrial Engineering Program (PEP) at Coppe/UFRJ has launched an inter-institutional doctoral program (Dinter) in partnership with the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), marking the first PhD in Engineering ever offered in the interior of the state of Amazonas. The initiative aims to train highly qualified professionals to foster the region’s socioeconomic, scientific, and technological development.
The Dinter program, coordinated by Capes, enables well-established institutions to bring their academic and scientific excellence to universities located outside major urban centers. According to Coppe’s Director of Academic Affairs, Professor Jean-David Caprace, “offering a Dinter at UFAM fulfills a social and strategic role: it trains highly qualified professionals directly in the North region, without requiring relocation to the country’s major graduate hubs. It reduces inequalities, promotes the retention of researchers and faculty at local universities, and contributes to sustainable regional development.”
Coppe has already been conducting inter-institutional doctoral programs in strategic areas such as Energy and Environmental Planning, strengthening scientific cooperation across regions and enabling local challenges to be addressed with solutions grounded in science, technology, and innovation. In 2015, Coppe’s Energy Planning Program launched a Dinter in Energy and Environmental Planning with the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN).
“For Coppe, this is about expanding our mission to train highly qualified human resources, democratizing access to doctoral education, and reinforcing the national integration of engineering research,” Caprace concludes.
The first module of the Dinter in Industrial Engineering at UFAM took place from August 11 to 15 at the Institute of Exact Sciences and Technology (ICET). Professors Francisco Duarte and Lino Marujo from PEP addressed topics such as sustainable territorial development, regional logistics, and innovative solutions for remote areas, reaffirming Coppe’s commitment to training highly skilled professionals and supporting development across Brazil’s diverse regions.
The inter-institutional doctoral program is temporary and can only be offered to a specific cohort of students, who are selected through admission processes conducted by the host institution.
