On Monday (31st) and this Tuesday (1st), UFSM held the "PDI in Dialogue: Building the University We Desire" event, with the aim of proposing reflections on the collective construction of a democratic public university and its role in the development of Brazilian education and society. The lectures took place in the Imembuí Hall, on the 2nd floor of the Reitoria, in Santa Maria.
"PDI" stands for the Institutional Development Plan, a document that establishes objectives, goals, and guidelines for a higher education institution. The new version of UFSM will be drafted to be in effect from 2028 to 2035.as presented at the launch event at the Convention Center.and will be built collectively, with the contribution of the university community. The guests were Professor of the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS) and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Education (MEC) Gregório Grisa, on the first day, and Professor of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Maria Beatriz Luce, on the second day.
Higher education in the new National Development Plan
The program began with the lecture “The new National Education Plan (PNE): policies, challenges and perspectives for higher education”, in which the Deputy Secretary-Executive of the Ministry of Education explained the functioning of the PNE, sanctioned as Law No. 15.388/2026, which will guide Brazilian education until 2036. There are a total of 19 objectives, 73 goals and 372 strategies focused on quality, equity and reducing social and regional inequalities.
Higher education is addressed in the new PNE as a specific strategic axis, with objectives dedicated to access, permanence and completion, as well as to the quality of training and articulation with research and innovation. Clickhereto view all information about the document in full.
During the lecture, the professor highlighted the low dropout rate among students and presented data on how the number of students entering higher education had increased in recent years. "We experienced a significant increase between 1990 and 2000, from 5 to 25 million students graduating in higher education. No country in the world has experienced such a growth in the number of its graduates as Brazil," said Grisa.
Planning requires time and participation
The first meeting with Professor Maria Beatriz Luce on Tuesday was on the topic of "PDI: management and development of the democratic and strategic university". The professor sought to address the importance of institutional organization from the perspective of UFSM, taking into account the fact that it is a higher education institution that, although increasingly prominent in the national and international scene, still maintains its roots in the interior.
Maria Beatriz is a titular professor in the areas of Policy and Administration of Education at UFRGS, a permanent member of the Postgraduate Program in Education at the same university, and also of the Postgraduate Program in Education at Unipampa. She also has extensive experience in public education management: she was Secretary of Basic Education at the MEC (Ministry of Education) from 2014 to 2015 and was a member of the Higher Education Chamber of the National Education Council from 2008 to 2012.
“The process of developing a PDI can never be rushed, because if it is, it will not be participatory. It needs to include many people. It requires time and information of different types. To think about 10 years of a university, we need to look at demographic data, economic development data, about the culture of the region and social, economic, and social interests, as well as the possibilities of work,” said the speaker about the need for the UFSM management to think in an integrated way when building the document.
UFSM evaluates advances in affirmative action.
In the afternoon, a round table discussion was held on the theme "Affirmative action and transformations in education: the role of federal universities." Present at the Imembuí Hall were the Rector of UFSM, Martha Adaime, the Vice Rector for Planning, Vinícius Garcia, the Vice Rector for Undergraduate Studies, Cláudia Barin, and the Coordinator of Institutional Planning and Evaluation, Silvane Brand, as well as Professor Maria Beatriz Luce.
The Rector pointed out that, although many issues – mainly those of a social nature and related to education – were already included in the last PDI, they were addressed in a more general way. Now, the University is in a position to define more specific measures to advance in the development of affirmative action.
“The new PDI is an opportunity to address many years of shortcomings because, particularly here at UFSM, in the pursuit of this university's plural, diverse, and inclusive goals, we began a project with affirmative action, specifically addressing issues related to educational assistance through the Coordination of Educational Actions,” Martha stated.
To reach the largest number of people, Professor Maria Beatriz emphasizes that each level of the university must contribute to the PDI planning, as the actions of everyone will be based on the information in this PDI. “What we have learned along the way is that, without participation, very technical plans are doomed to fail. Participation is guaranteed as long as people contribute effectively and benefit from the decisions that are made. We need to gather the most varied strategies and resources, because planning must be done in many places. People must be represented. There is no magic formula,” the speaker said.
Participate
To participate in the construction of the new PDI, students, teachers, educational technical staff, and the external community can respond to theform.
Pedro Pereira, journalist, and Fabiano dos Santos, journalism student and volunteer at the News Agency
Photos: Mathias Ilnicki, journalism student and scholarship recipient at the News Agency