Interinstitutional Academic Partnerships

Print

Interinstitutional Academic Partnerships

Internationalization has been one of the hallmarks of the Graduate Program in Geography at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), consolidating partnerships with academic institutions in several countries over time. Since its creation, PPGGeo has strengthened ties of scientific and academic cooperation that reflect both the founding tradition of Brazilian Geography and the pursuit of symmetrical and collaborative relationships with foreign institutions.

This process can be understood in two main phases: a foundational phase, characterized by asymmetrical ties and the influence of the French School, and a phase of consolidation and diversification, in the context of graduate studies, which significantly expanded the geographic and thematic scope of international partnerships.

In 2018, PPGGeo achieved one of its greatest milestones: coordinating the Institutional Program for Internationalization (PRINT/CAPES). This achievement enabled the expansion and strengthening of international partnerships between 2018 and 2024, securing funding and scholarships for sandwich PhDs, academic missions, and visiting professor grants.

In the same year, the Program was awarded support through the CAPES/FUNCAP Call No. 04/2017 — Support for Scientific Cooperation Strategies, which sustained international activities until 2021. With this funding, sandwich PhD scholarships were granted to institutions in Spain, France, Mexico, and the United States; visiting professor grants were awarded for Spain, France, and New Zealand; and researchers from Poland, France, Spain, the United States, Argentina, and New Zealand participated in national-scale events promoted by the Program.

PPGGeo’s international engagement has stood out for establishing symmetrical and collaborative relationships, centered on synergy between research groups and networks focused on globally relevant themes and on addressing scientific challenges aligned with the international research agenda. Over more than two decades, internationalization has consolidated itself as a key strategy for institutional strengthening, reflected in high-quality scientific production, established academic collaborations, and the Program’s prominence as the highest-rated graduate program in Geography in Brazil’s North and Northeast regions, with international recognition for its excellence.

This trajectory has provided valuable experience and a deeper understanding of the main challenges facing northern Brazil, contributing to the attraction of new international partners, researcher mobility, joint supervision of theses and dissertations, cotutelle agreements, and the securing of funding and scientific cooperation projects.

At the national level, PPGGeo/UFC participates in network programs (CNPq), develops research and innovation projects (FUNCAP), and engages faculty in planning policies across different scales, with emphasis on projects funded by the Fortaleza City Government and the Government of the State of Ceará.

Parcerias 3


 Partnerships with French Universities

Collaboration with French institutions has been steadily expanding through consolidated partnerships with universities such as Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Université Rennes 2, and Université du Maine. These connections reflect not only the international engagement of UFC’s Graduate Programs but also their articulation with research networks focused on socio-environmental and territorial themes.

In 2015, Prof. José Borzacchiello da Silva was invited to take part in two major academic events in France. At the 1st Franco-Brazilian International Colloquium, promoted by the International Geographical Union in partnership with the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, he delivered a lecture on contemporary socio-spatial issues in Brazil. That same year, he was a keynote speaker at the international seminar Transition sociale et environnementale de systèmes agricoles et agro-alimentaires au Brésil, organized by Université Rennes 2, which focused on socio-environmental transformations in rural Brazil.

Also in 2015, Prof. Adryane Gorayeb began a joint PhD supervision (cotutelle) with Prof. François Laurent of Université du Maine, developing a research project on border conflicts between Brazil and France, particularly in the Amapá–French Guiana region. This research is framed within a critical geographical approach to border dynamics, international cooperation, and regional geopolitics.

France plays a central role in the Program’s internationalization trajectory:

Between 2021 and 2024, PPGGeo significantly expanded its institutional relations with French universities, strengthening and diversifying partnerships established in earlier periods. In addition to the consolidated collaborations with Le Mans Université, Université d’Angers, and Université Catholique de l’Ouest, new connections were established with Institut SupAgro Montpellier, Université Sorbonne Lettres, and Université Aix-Marseille. The first three are part of the PRINT/CAPES Program, through which PPGGeo/UFC maintains active inter-institutional agreements.

At Le Mans Université, cooperation has been dynamic and continuous, with emphasis on scientific research and bilateral academic mobility. Highlights include:

At Université Catholique de l’Ouest and Université d’Angers, collaborations have also been strengthened. Notable examples include:

At Institut SupAgro Montpellier (UMR G-Eau), a 2024 scientific mission brought together Profs. Jader Santos, Alexandre Pereira, and Eustógio Dantas with partners Marcel Kuper and Julien Burte, along with several local researchers. Key activities included:

At Université Aix-Marseille, collaboration has been marked by Prof. Rubson Maia’s participation in the CAPES-COFECUB project coordinated by Lionel Siame, which has facilitated scientific missions and the participation of French partners in academic activities in Brazil. Within this partnership, doctoral student Ana Beatriz Barbosa completed her sandwich PhD between 2023 and 2024.

At Université Sorbonne Lettres, doctoral student Nislene Lopes carried out her sandwich PhD in 2024, funded by the PRINT/CAPES Program and supervised by Prof. José Leonardo Tonus.

 


Partnerships with Spanish Universities

Academic cooperation with Spanish universities represents one of the most consolidated axes of the internationalization strategy of UFC’s Graduate Program in Geography (PPGGeo). This relationship, which began with the training of graduate faculty members in institutions in Zaragoza and Barcelona, has expanded over the last decade, resulting in active agreements with institutions such as the University of Huelva, University of Seville, Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of the Balearic Islands, University of Alicante, and University of Alcalá de Henares.

The University of Huelva was the first to establish an agreement with the Program in 2010, focused on tourism and territorial planning. The partnership, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Alfonso Vargas Sánchez (GEIDETUR), promoted comparative studies between the regions of Huelva/Andalusia and Ceará/Northeast Brazil, as well as technical visits and research missions involving faculty, master’s, and doctoral students. The Program also participated in the Spanish teaching innovation project La Evaluación en Asignaturas de Geografía, aimed at formative assessment.

That same year, an agreement was signed with the University of Seville through the Official Master’s in Territorial and Local Development Planning and Management, coordinated by Prof. Enrique Javier López Lara. This partnership was strengthened by the postdoctoral fellowship of Prof. Christian Oliveira (Dec/2010 – Jun/2011), titled Geo-heritage of Andalusian Sanctuaries, supported by CAPES and Fundación Carolina. The exchange fostered the reception of visiting professors and graduate students for research missions. As a result, between 2014 and 2015, two students carried out sandwich PhDs at the Universities of Huelva and Seville.

In 2012, ties were renewed with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, with the arrival of Prof. Sergio Rossi to collaborate on coastal research in Ceará and to teach the graduate course Global Change, Climate, and Ocean Impacts. In partnership with Prof. Antonio Jeovah de Andrade Meireles, this cooperation resulted in:

The partnership with the University of the Balearic Islands began in 2014, with PPGGeo faculty participating in PhD defense committees in Spain and the reception of visiting professors who delivered lectures and presented thematic research in the program.

In the same year, a former UFC master’s student began her doctoral studies at the University of Alicante with a Science Without Borders fellowship, under the supervision of Prof. Antonio Aledo. This cooperation enabled joint supervision with Prof. Eustógio Dantas and included Prof. Aledo’s participation in the XIV Urban Geography Symposium (2015), at the roundtable City: a Project for the Future.

In 2016, Prof. Dr. Mario Buggi of the University of Alcalá de Henares carried out a two-month research stay with the UFC Graduate Program in Geography, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Edson Vicente da Silva. During his stay, he taught the course Environmental Ethics for master’s and doctoral students and participated in field activities organized by the Laboratory of Geoecology of Landscapes and Environmental Planning (LAGEPLAN). This experience reinforces the institutional effort to expand and consolidate new exchange opportunities with Spanish universities.

Since the previous CAPES evaluation period (2017–2020), PPGGeo has established research agreements with several Spanish institutions, including the Universities of Alicante, Alcalá, Seville, Pablo de Olavide, and Santiago de Compostela. In the current period (2021–2024), academic activities with the University of Alicante and the University of Alcalá have been particularly significant, under the scope of PRINT/CAPES, in addition to a new partnership formalized with the University of Barcelona.

In Spain, the long-standing cooperation with the University of Alicante has taken on a distinctly scientific profile, with extensive participation of UFC/PPGGeo faculty (Eustógio Dantas, Alexandre Pereira, Adryane Gorayeb, Alexandra Oliveira, and Iara Gomes) and a program alumna (Marilia Sousa) in international networks, publications, and academic events. Among these initiatives, notable highlights include participation in the Red Internacional de Estudios Socioambientales, based at the University of Alicante and coordinated by Prof. Antonio Aledo. This network integrates approaches and results in the analysis, planning, and management of socio-environmental issues across Latin America and Europe. Within this collaboration, key achievements include:

At the University of Barcelona, collaboration was strengthened by the 2024 scientific mission of Prof. Iara Gomes, funded by FUNCAP. This initiative stems from the partnership between researchers Fransualdo Azevedo (UFRN) and Maria Àngels Alió (UB) in the development of the research project Challenges of Food Production and Flows in Metropolises.

With the University of Alcalá, scientific collaborations have also resulted in joint publications by Profs. Mario Burgui and Edson Silva, particularly the project The effect of construction intensity on landscape preferences, published in Environmental Development (2022), among other outcomes.

 


Partnership with Portuguese Universities

In Portugal, several contacts were established with the aim of formalizing agreements with institutions such as the University of Minho, the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, and the University of Coimbra.

At the University of Minho, the first contact involved Professor João Sarmento and pointed to the possibility of a partnership with UFC and UFPR. Although an attempt was made to implement this collaboration in 2013, to date the intended exchanges of researchers and the development of research in the field of Urban and Cultural Geography have not yet materialized.

With the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, an agreement was signed in 2012 under the responsibility of Professor Maria da Graça Mouga Poça Santos, representing the Research Center on Identity(ies) and Diversity(ies).

The University of Coimbra formalized an agreement in 2013, linked to the Integrated Watershed Management Project. Within this framework, joint activities were carried out between the two institutions. At the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012, a PPGGeo graduate student completed a sandwich PhD at the University of Coimbra, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Lúcio José Sobral da Cunha.

In 2013, strengthening this connection, contact was established with Professor Santana, a specialist in Health Geography, which enabled, in 2014, the reception of three doctoral students to partially fulfill their academic requirements at this institution.

In 2015, at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT) of the University of Lisbon, PhD candidate Tiago Estevam Gonçalves carried out a sandwich doctorate in Urban Geography, under the supervision of Prof. Herculano Alberto Pinho Cachinho. During the same period, PhD candidate Gledson Magalhães also engaged in academic activities at the institution.

In Portugal, during the 2021–2024 evaluation period, scientific cooperation activities of the UFC Graduate Program in Geography (PPGGeo/UFC) were intensified with the University of Lisbon and the University of Coimbra.

At the University of Lisbon, both research projects and faculty exchange programs have been consolidated. In research, a joint grant was provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and FUNCAP (Brazil) from 2017 to 2021 for the development of the GRAMPCITY project, dedicated to studying population aging in Lisbon and Fortaleza. The project was coordinated by Professors Nuno Costa (University of Lisbon) and Eustógio Dantas (PPGGeo/UFC), resulting in two defended master’s dissertations supervised by Prof. Clélia Costa and Prof. Eustógio Dantas, as well as the international event Aging in the Metropolis in 2022, with the participation of Professors Nuno Costa and Eduarda Costa.

In terms of faculty mobility, notable participation includes Prof. Vladia Oliveira’s involvement in the Erasmus+ AMIGOS Program, linked to the University of Lisbon and articulated with the REALP network, which enabled her participation as a lecturer at the Ecology of Semi-Arid Zones Workshop in 2023.

At the University of Coimbra, partnerships have been developed since 2018, with emphasis on the participation of Prof. José da Silva in the Summer Course of the Iberian Studies Center, currently in its 23rd edition, coordinated by Prof. Rui Jacinto (University of Coimbra) and Prof. María Isabel Martín Jiménez (University of Salamanca). During the current evaluation period, Professors José da Silva, Eustógio Dantas, and Alexandre Pereira contributed presentations (in remote format) at the 2023 event, with the papers subsequently published in the conference proceedings. In 2024, works authored by Professors Eustógio Dantas and José da Silva were selected for publication in the journal Iberografia, currently in press.

Partnership with Swedish Universities

The partnership initiated in the previous evaluation period was expanded in the current cycle through the project developed in collaboration with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), under the overall coordination of Jorge Amorim and regional coordination of Prof. Elisa Zanella. Funded by the Copernicus Climate Change Services program of SMHI between 2019 and 2021, the project TropiCool – Green Infrastructure in Tropical Cities for Reducing Heat Stress and Adapting to Climate Change involved the participation of PPGGeo/UFC faculty and students, as well as researchers from FUNCEME and SEUMA, in cooperation with Swedish partners.

As part of this collaboration, an international colloquium was held in 2023 with the participation of researchers Jorge Amorim, Heiner Körnich, Isabel Ribeiro, David Segersson, Susanna Hagelin, and Lars Gidhagen.


 

 Partnership with American Universities

In 2012/13, the Graduate Program in Geography was approved to host the 33rd Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers (CLAG), the first of its kind held in Brazil. The event was organized by Prof. Christian Dennys Monteiro de Oliveira, with institutional support from CNPq, CAPES, FUNCAP, the Center for Sciences, and the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at UFC.

With approximately 300 participants (25% international), the event fostered significant integration between the geographies of Latin America and North America, deepening studies on borders and regional themes. The event’s impact led to Prof. Christian Dennys receiving CLAG’s Enlaces Award (2016) for his contributions to strengthening academic relations between Latin America and the United States.

In 2014, a CAPES PVE project was approved in partnership with Texas A&M University, aimed at strengthening cooperation between research groups in Geoprocessing, Climatology, and Water Resources at UFC and the U.S. institution. The project, coordinated by Prof. Adryane Gorayeb (UFC) and Prof. Christian Brannstrom (Texas A&M), focused on the Impacts of Wind Energy on the Northeastern Brazilian Coast.

Key activities included:

In 2016, the project Urban Water Provisioning and Household Water Security in Northeast Brazil was approved, funded by Fulbright/CAPES and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), under the coordination of Prof. Wendy Jepson, with the participation of Prof. Jader Santos and UFC graduate students.

Also in 2016, efforts began to establish a cooperation agreement with the University of Kansas, initiated by the visit of Prof. Chris Brown. The goals included sending UFC students for sandwich PhD training and hosting faculty as visiting professors. In 2017, PhD candidate Wellington Romão completed a six-month sandwich program at the institution, under co-supervision of Prof. Chris Brown.

As another outcome of CLAG 2015, collaboration with Springer was consolidated, with Prof. Eustógio Dantas joining, in 2016, the editorial board of two book series:

Among the works published by program faculty, the following stand out:

Also in 2016, a project with Prof. Peter Michael Rosset (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur – ECOSUR, Mexico) was approved through CAPES Call 65/2014. Coordinated by Prof. Francisco Amaro Gomes de Alencar, the project Peasant Schools and the Territorialization of Agroecology aimed to develop a theory for the territorialization and scaling of agroecology in Brazil, especially in Ceará.

That same year, collaboration began with the Argentine Institute for Arid Zone Research (IADIZA/CONICET), with Dr. Elena María de las Neves Abraham co-supervising PhD student Érika Gomes. The project, Monitoring Land Degradation and Desertification in the Western Sertões of Ceará and Argentina, was supervised by Prof. Vladia Pinto Vidal and funded by CAPES through the Sandwich PhD Program (Call No. 19/2016).

In the current evaluation period, the partnership with Texas A&M University has been maintained and strengthened with the approval of the project Urban Water Provisioning and Household Water Security in Northeast Brazil, funded by Fulbright/CAPES and the U.S. National Science Foundation (2018–2023). The project, coordinated internationally by Prof. Wendy Jepson and, in Brazil, by Prof. Jader Santos, focuses on assessing urban household water supply systems in Northeastern Brazil. The initiative also includes researchers from various countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, articulated through the HWISE network (Household Water Insecurity Experiences).

Within this cooperation, institutional ties with Springer have also been consolidated. As a result, since 2016, Prof. Eustógio Dantas has served on the editorial board of two important Springer series: (i) The Latin American Studies Book Series (Dantas, E.C.; Rabassa, J.; Sluyter, A.) and (ii) SpringerBriefs in Latin American Studies (Rabassa, J.; Dantas, E.C.; Sluyter, A.).

Partnership with Latin American Universities

In 2005, a cooperation agreement was established with the Universidad de La Habana, enabling the participation of Cuban researchers and those from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), particularly from the Graduate Programs in Geography and in Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering. The central thematic focus of this cooperation is the Management of Tropical Watersheds, in a comparative perspective between experiences in Cuba and Brazil.

Several research missions were carried out both in Cuba and in Ceará, including postdoctoral studies conducted in Havana in 2007. As a direct result of this agreement, the International Seminar on Planning and Sustainable Development in Watersheds was created, with its first edition held at UFC (2011), followed by subsequent editions at UNESP/Presidente Prudente (2013) and UFPA (2015).

Since 2012, activities have been developed within the scope of the EcoMaSD project, funded by CAPES between 2010 and 2012. During this period, UFC hosted two PhD candidates from Universidad de La Habana under the sandwich doctoral program: Obllurys Cárdenas López and Dayaxny Hernández Pérez.

Academic ties with Cuba remain active, as demonstrated by the participation of Prof. Mateo Rodríguez in the Environmental Studies Seminar held in 2016, organized by Prof. Edson Vicente da Silva, with financial support from CAF. Prof. Mateo Rodríguez also maintained continuous academic involvement at UFC between 2010 and 2014, including participation in dissertation and thesis committees, teaching courses, and co-authoring publications, some of which have already reached new editions.

In the current evaluation period, partnerships with Latin American institutions remain consolidated, strengthening South-South cooperation, especially with universities in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador.

At the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), cooperation expanded with the approval of the project Leisure and Tourism in the Americas (2022–2024), funded by FUNCAP’s Universal Call, involving professors Eustógio Dantas and Alexandre Pereira (UFC) and Prof. Luis Salinas (UNAM). Outcomes of this partnership include Prof. Luis Salinas’ participation in a PRINT/CAPES event held in 2022. In return, in 2024, professors Eustógio Dantas and Alexandre Pereira conducted a scientific mission to UNAM, which included academic meetings at the university and fieldwork in Cancún, in collaboration with Luis Salinas and Melisa Montaño.

At the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina), PPGGeo/UFC plays an active role in the Observatory Network on Heritage Landscapes in Latin American Arts (OPPALA), which promotes projects and research in the field of arts and cultural heritage. The network is coordinated by Prof. Christian Oliveira, in partnership with Cristina Carballo. The results of this cooperation have been systematically presented at OPPALA colloquia, with the first edition held in Fortaleza (2018) and the second online (2021). Cristina Carballo also participated as a keynote speaker in an international event linked to the PRINT/CAPES Program.

At the Universidad Nacional de Salta (Argentina), a project was approved in 2019 under the CAPES COOPBRAS/South Global Call (2019–2023), one of only ten selected nationwide in Brazil, focusing on strategic themes related to energy generation. Coordinated by Prof. Adryane Gorayeb, the Brazilian team includes Christian Brannstrom, Jeovah Meireles, and Edson Vicente (UFC), in partnership with Sônia da Cal and Carla Cavaliero (UNICAMP) and Lucas Seghezzo and Martin Iribarnegaray (Universidad de Salta). Within the Brazil–Argentina exchange, highlights include the participation of professors Jeovah Meireles and Edson Silva as visiting professors at Universidad de Salta (2023–2024), as well as scientific missions carried out by Prof. Adryane Gorayeb in 2022 and 2024. Conversely, notable developments include the scientific mission of Prof. Martin Iribarnegaray to Brazil (2022), his role as a collaborating faculty member at PPGGeo/UFC starting in 2024, and the admission of PhD candidate Andrea Suarez into the program in 2023.


Partnership with African Universities

Cooperation between the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) and African academic institutions, particularly the University of Cape Verde (UniCV), follows a different rationale from partnerships traditionally established with developed countries. It is an initiative grounded in academic solidarity and a commitment to training highly qualified human resources in the African continent. This approach aligns with Brazil’s internationalization policy, especially within Portuguese-speaking countries, and was made possible through programs such as Pró-África (CNPq) and the CAPES/AULP Program (Association of Portuguese-Speaking Universities).

UFC’s involvement with Cape Verde formally began in 2006, with the signing of a technical and scientific cooperation agreement between the university and the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation, aimed at creating the Brazil/Cape Verde Studies Center. In 2007, the Graduate Program in Geography at UFC joined this cooperation framework by implementing the project Socio-environmental Analysis of Degraded Areas in Cape Verde, coordinated by Prof. Vládia Pinto Vidal. The project sought to foster scientific collaboration and encourage UFC students to develop research focused on Cape Verdean realities.

From 2013 onwards, the Graduate Programs in Geography and in Development and Environment (PRODEMA) formalized agreements with UniCV, further strengthening institutional ties. Prof. Vládia Pinto Vidal played a central role in consolidating this cooperation, engaging in multiple academic and cultural activities in Cape Verde, including participation in the Ceará Cultural Delegation at the Ceará Book Fair in Cape Verde (2011) and in academic exchange committees.

In 2014, with CAPES/AULP support, a Master’s Program in Development and Environment was launched in partnership between UFC and UniCV. The program aimed to provide high-level interdisciplinary training in Cape Verde through faculty and student mobility. UFC professors such as Elisa Zanella and Jader Santos taught courses in person in Cape Verde, while also conducting academic advising both locally and at UFC in Brazil.

The exchange program included postdoctoral fellowships for faculty, undergraduate sandwich scholarships for Brazilian and Cape Verdean students, and master’s sandwich fellowships for Cape Verdean students. In 2015, professors Elisa Zanella and Jader Santos undertook postdoctoral research at UniCV. Conversely, Cape Verdean professors such as Sónia Maria Duarte Melo Silva Victória, José Manuel da Veiga Pereira, José Maria Monteiro Semedo Antônio, and Jandir Pina Gomes conducted postdoctoral research at UFC.

The exchange also involved graduate and undergraduate students. Notable cases include the PhD internships of Maria Losângela Martins de Sousa (2015) and Luis Ricardo (2016), supervised by Prof. Vládia Oliveira and co-supervised by Prof. Sónia Victória. Brazilian students such as Hudson Silva Rocha and Bruna da Silva Lima pursued undergraduate sandwich programs in Cape Verde. In return, UFC hosted Cape Verdean students, including undergraduates Adilson Pina Gonçalves, Alveno João Brito Dias de Barros, and master’s student Ailton Emílio Lopes Varela. In 2016, notable mobility activities included the sandwich fellowships of Domingos Semedo da Silva and Edson Valdique Monteiro Semedo (undergraduate) and Gilson Semedo (master’s).

Institutional ties were further strengthened through Prof. Vládia Pinto Vidal’s participation in the PhD Program in Environmental Management and Policy at UniCV, created by the Lusophone Countries Environmental Studies Network (REALP), which brings together institutions from Brazil, Cape Verde, Portugal, and other African countries. In 2016, she co-taught part of the course Methodology of Interdisciplinarity with Portuguese professor Luis Oosterbeek and later taught a module on desertification.

This experience has become a model of international cooperation focused on solidarity, knowledge exchange, and the strengthening of cultural and scientific bonds among Portuguese-speaking countries. It also represents a distinctive model of international engagement for Brazilian public universities, with direct impact on academic training and knowledge production in contexts of mutual interest.

In the current evaluation period, partnerships with African institutions have expanded, reinforcing PPGGeo/UFC’s role in South-South cooperation, particularly through agreements with universities in Cape Verde and Morocco.

In Cape Verde, professors Vládia Vidal and Elisa Zanella maintain consolidated ties with UniCV. In 2023, they participated in the Conference Cycle of the UniCV Center for Research in Sustainable Development (Cidesd/UniCV), where they delivered the lecture Urban–Rural Relations: Implications for Territorial Planning. Both professors also serve continuously on the Scientific Committee of REALP Meetings, held biennially, where they also act as speakers. They are currently engaged in a comparative research project on beach area use in Santiago Island (Cape Verde) and fishing activities along the Ceará coast, in partnership with the State University of Vale do Acaraú (UVA). Prof. Vládia Vidal also served as faculty in UniCV’s Graduate Program in Environmental Management and Policy between 2016 and 2021.

In Morocco, a cooperation agreement was established with the Hassan II Institute, involving PPGGeo/UFC, CIRAD (France), and FUNCEME, enabling the development of multiple academic and scientific activities. Within the Brazil–Morocco exchange, highlights include a scientific mission carried out by professors Eustógio Dantas, Alexandre Pereira, and Jader Santos, along with PhD student Letícia Freitas, at the Hassan II Institute and the Institute of Meknes. Conversely, a scientific mission to Brazil was conducted in 2022 by Younnes Nekkar and Nassreddine Maatala (Hassan II Institute).

As part of this cooperation, a Field School was organized at UFC and in the municipality of Quixadá (CE), involving faculty and students from PPGGeo/UFC. The initiative was developed in partnership with CIRAD (France), the Hassan II Institute, the French Institute for Research on Health, Environment and Work, the Ministry of Health, FUNCEME, and PPGGeo/UFC, with the participation of professors Jader Santos, Younnes Nekkar, Nassreddine Maatala, and Julien Burte. During the Field School, students conducted territorial diagnoses using participatory methodologies, consolidating institutional mobility between the partners. Another notable development was the co-tutelle supervision of PhD student Bouchra Kouissi, jointly advised by professors Jader Santos (UFC) and Nassreddine Maatala (Hassan II Institute).


 

 Mixed-Nature Projects

Within its research activities, PPGGeo/UFC has recently developed several noteworthy initiatives:

a) Prof. Adryane Gorayeb has coordinated a strategic project funded by CNPq under the Nexus I Call, focused on the integrated assessment of water, energy, and food security in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The project involves the University of Bath (United Kingdom), led by Prof. Mirella Di Lorenzo, with co-funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund. Other international partners include Pablo de Olavide University (Spain), represented by Prof. Pilar Paneque; Texas A&M University (USA), represented by Profs. Wendy Jepson and Christian Brannstrom; and, more recently, Lincoln University (New Zealand), with Prof. Chris Rosin, who has contributed research on food sovereignty.

b) Profs. Eustógio Dantas and Fábio Matos participate in the national research network responsible for developing the National Qualification Plan in Tourism, funded by the Ministry of Tourism (MTUR) and nationally coordinated by the University of Brasília (UnB). Within this project, the professors lead studies related to the Route of Emotions, with the collaboration of program alumnae Dr. Luana Holanda and Dr. Maria Natacha.

The Program also develops projects on a global scale, with academic partnerships across several continents. Highlights include:

c) EUROBROADMAP – An international project funded by the European Union that analyzed students’ representations of Europe and the world. Prof. Eustógio Dantas participated alongside institutions from Brazil (USP, UFC, UFRGS, UFAM) and other countries, including France, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Malta, Romania, Turkey, Cameroon, China, and India. The project resulted in the publication A visão da Europa no Brasil: as especificidades dos olhares alencarinos (2013).

d) PAEC OAS/GCUB – In 2014, UFC joined the Partnership Program for Education and Training, promoted by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB). Doctoral scholarships were allocated to foreign students, including Diana Tovar (Colombia, 2015, advised by Prof. Jeovah Meireles) and Gloria Bolívar (Venezuela, 2016, advised by Prof. Adryane Gorayeb).

e) Mozambique–Italy–Brazil Cooperation – A joint project with Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) and the Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria (Italy), involving Prof. Flávio Rodrigues. Entitled Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Formulating Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Water Scarcity in Arid and Semi-arid zones of Mozambique, the project is funded by the Italian university.

The Program’s international actions are guided by seven strategic principles:

f) FUNPEC-RN – Prof. Rubson Maia participated (2012–2022) in the project Faults, fractures, facies, and flow in karst systems, funded by Shell through the Rio Grande do Norte Foundation for Research and Culture (FUNPEC-RN). The project investigated karst areas in the Potiguar Basin (Rio Grande do Norte) and the Irecê Basin (Bahia), focusing on diagenetic processes and permeability–porosity analysis. The activities were carried out in collaboration with researchers from the University of Parma (Italy), the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), fostering intense international scientific interaction.

g) TropiCool Project – Conducted between 2019 and 2023, the project was funded by the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S) and nationally coordinated by Prof. Elisa Zanella, with contributions from collaborators at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).


National Partnerships

Historically, the Program has been committed to strengthening its presence on a national scale. A milestone in this trajectory was the organization of the First North-Northeast Meeting of Graduate Programs in Geography (I SERNNE), held in 2009 in partnership with institutions from the North and Northeast regions. Coordinated by Prof. Christian Dennys Monteiro de Oliveira, the event aimed to discuss strategies for overcoming regional disparities and consolidating micro-regional research. Key outcomes included debates on research lines, funding strategies, regional collaborations, publications, and proposals for exchanges and agreements. The event continued in Belém (2010), João Pessoa (2012), and Porto Velho (last edition).

Building on this experience, the Program has maintained an active presence in subsequent meetings, reinforcing exchange strategies with national institutions at both regional and national levels. For the 2021–2024 quadrennium, one of the goals was to expand cooperation agreements with Brazilian institutions. Today, the Program maintains consolidated partnerships across the North, Northeast, and other regions of the country.

Within networked programs, the strengthening of PPGGeo has been supported by the consolidation of national research networks, with ongoing participation of faculty and students in projects funded by various agencies. A notable example is the uninterrupted involvement of the Program since 2009 in the Metropolitan Observatory Network, funded by INCT/CNPq.

At the state and municipal levels, several initiatives stand out, including technical advisory activities and the development of strategic and territorial planning documents, with direct involvement of Program faculty:

In the current quadrennium, the Program has continued its tradition of strong interaction with public authorities and civil society. Faculty from the Urban and Regional Planning, Cartography, and Climatology laboratories (Eustógio Dantas, Maria Clélia Lustosa Costa, Alexandre Pereira, Jader Santos, Adryane Gorayeb, and Elisa Zanella) have been actively engaged in the development of strategic projects requested by state and municipal governments. Among these:

All projects involved active participation of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni of the Program, reaffirming PPGGeo’s commitment to academic training integrated with the practical application of scientific knowledge.

Highlights of national projects include:

I) Project approved under the PGPSE/CAPES Call nº 42/2014, coordinated by Prof. Jeovah Meireles in partnership with Profs. Luiz Antonio Cestaro (UFRN) and Lílian de Lins Wanderley (UFSE). The aim is to consolidate research on coastal environmental systems and contribute to sustainable development strategies.

II) Partnership with UFPA – Bragança Campus, initiated in 2010 with the inclusion of Prof. Adryane Gorayeb in the Program. In collaboration with Prof. Luci Cajueiro Carneiro Pereira (UFPA), three projects funded by the CNPq Universal Call (2011–2013, 2015–2017, and 2017–2020) were developed, focusing on watershed management and the impacts of climate change on riverside communities in Pará and Ceará.

III) Partnerships with UFF, strengthened by the arrival of Prof. Flávio Rodrigues (2016). Highlights include two projects:

IV) Agreement with UERR and UFRR (2012–2016), within the project Integrated Landscape Study of Watersheds in the Amazon and Semi-Arid Regions, coordinated by Prof. Edson Vicente da Silva. The project led to the creation of doctoral positions for faculty from these institutions and to the implementation of the DINTER UFC/UERR/UFRR program, which graduated 15 doctoral students in Fortaleza by 2017.

V) Partnerships with UFPA – Marabá and Altamira, with doctoral positions offered in 2013.2 for the qualification of Geography faculty. The works have been qualified and are expected to be defended by 2017.

VI) Partnership with UFRN in Geomorphology, between Prof. Rubson Pinheiro (UFC) and Prof. Francisco Hilário Rego Bezerra (UFRN). They collaborated on the Porocarste Project (Petrobras), with outcomes such as an international publication with Prof. Tomasz Boski (University of Faro, Portugal). In 2016, a new project was approved under the CNPq Universal Call (2017–2020), involving researchers from UFRN, the University of Wroclaw (Poland), and the University of Faro (Portugal).

Other strategic partnerships across Brazil include:

I) Agreement with IPPUR/UFRJ, within the Metropolitan Observatory Network (INCT/CNPq), involving research on the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza and inter-institutional and international collaboration. Access to the METRODATA database has been a key advantage for comparative analysis of metropolitan regions.

II) Participation in the project Urban Climate and Dengue in Brazilian Cities, approved under CNPq Call nº 37/2013, coordinated by Prof. Francisco de Assis Mendonça (UFPR), with participation from Prof. Elisa Zanella. The research modeled urban dengue risk scenarios under climate change. It also included the postdoctoral fellowship of Gledson Magalhães, focused on Fortaleza.

III) Participation of Prof. Renato Pequeno in RECIME, the national research network on medium-sized cities, coordinated by Prof. Maria Encarnação Spósito (UNESP-PP), currently the main national geographic research network on the topic.

Beyond consolidated partnerships, the Program invests in the expansion of future national exchanges, such as:

Innovation projects have also involved Program faculty, including:

I) Participation in the Chief Scientist Program, in its Environment and Agrarian Development versions (FUNCAP). In the first case, between 2022 and 2023, the project Planning, Creation, and Implementation of Conservation Units in Ceará was developed. Its success led to the approval of a new project entitled Conservation and Sustainable Development Strategies in Priority Conservation Areas in Ceará (2023–2025), both coordinated by Prof. Jader de Oliveira Santos, responsible for adapting participatory methodologies (social cartography) in the development of management plans for six major state conservation units, including the Pacoti River APA and the Baturité Massif APA.

II) In 2024, the subproject Developing Dual Territorial Affectation began, coordinated by Prof. Jeovah Meireles and implemented in Tatajuba, a district of Camocim.

III) The projects Cristal DOM (Petrobras/Shell) and Cliff Risk Assessment of Landslides in Pipa and Barra de Tabatinga – RN, coordinated by Prof. Rubson Maia.