Federal University of ABC (UFABC) - São Paulo, Brazil

Located in the region known as ABC, the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) was created to contribute to the education of Brazilian people, to advance knowledge in engineering, mathematics, computing, natural and human sciences; and to meet the demands for regional industrial activity and public administration. Founded in 2006, today it operates in two campuses, in the cities of Santo André and São Bernardo do Campus, located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. UFABC has an interdisciplinary concept based on a pioneering pedagogical plan and offers 24 undergraduate programmes and 29 graduate programmes in different fields of study. UFABC has invested in research and graduate studies based on the spirit of knowledge construction beyond Brazilian borders, having already established a reputation for high-level interdisciplinary and internationally research and teaching. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 the university already ranks in the third place of the Brazilian universities regarding the criterion international perception, and first among the federal institutions. Numerous research groups have gained international projection, reflected in high-impact academic-scientific production and the establishment of UFABC as a target for foreign partners.

The SPRING Programme is supported by two graduate programmes in Territorial Planning and Management and Public Policies. Both at the masters and doctoral level, operating at the Campus of São Bernardo do Campo. They are connected to the Engineering, Modelling and Applied Social Sciences Centre (CECS), where corresponding Bachelor Courses in Spatial Planning and Public Policies are offered. The Territorial Planning and Management Programme is divided into three fields of teaching and research: (1) Territorial Dynamics; (2) State, Policies, Planning and Management Instruments; (3) Methods and Techniques in Territorial Management and Planning. The Public Policies Program is equally divided in three teaching and research clusters: (1) Public Policy Analysis and Management; (2) Institutions, Society and Democratic Governance; (3) Public Policies in International Perspective.