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Free Courses from USP and UFSC Bring High-Demand Topics in Public Management and Sustainable Development, with Certification, Online Format, and Open Access to Interested Parties from Different Regions of the Country in a New Round of Enrollment.
Enrollment is open for nine free courses, 100% online and with certification linked to the CEURS-SP Program, an initiative developed in partnership between the University of São Paulo and the Federal University of Santa Catarina.
The program’s platform brings together short courses in areas such as women’s health, basic sanitation, sustainable tourism, circular economy, urban solid waste, and municipalization of the 2030 Agenda.
The purpose of CEURS-SP is to qualify public officials, local leaders, and other interested parties in topics related to sustainable development.
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In the official presentation of the program, USP informs that the action was structured to support the training of local development agents, while the courses page highlights that the co-production involves USP, UFSC, and the Stela Institute.
Although the territorial focus of CEURS-SP is associated with the region of São José do Rio Preto in the interior of São Paulo, the enrollment page disseminated by outlets announcing the latest opening states that registration can be done by interested parties from all over Brazil.
The certification, according to the announcement, is offered by UFSC, which increases the interest of those seeking quick courses with university certification.
Online Courses with Certificate from USP and UFSC
The nine available courses cover different subjects but converge on the same axis: the practical application of public policies and sustainable solutions in the daily lives of cities.
Among them are Introduction to Women’s Health, Fundamentals of Municipalizing the 2030 Agenda, Introduction to Quality of Life, Sports, and Leisure, and Introduction to Basic Sanitation, all already identified on the official CEURS-SP platform.
Also part of the offering are the courses Introduction to Innovation Environments, Introduction to Sustainable Tourism, Introduction to Circular Economy, Introduction to Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions, and Introduction to Urban Solid Waste.
In the official description, most of the courses have a workload of five hours, while the course on municipalizing the 2030 Agenda is listed with a workload of ten hours.
This design helps explain why the courses attract different audiences.
There are contents aimed at officials and managers, such as the modules on the 2030 Agenda, sanitation, and waste, but there are also broader interest tracks, such as women’s health, quality of life, and sustainable tourism.
Common to all, they address topics that have gained space on the public and business agenda in recent years.
Women’s Health, Sanitation, and Circular Economy Among the Topics
In the presentation of the course on women’s health, the platform states that the content relates primary care, prevention, reproductive rights, and combating violence with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The module on basic sanitation addresses water supply, sewage, legal framework, and municipal management instruments, such as the municipal sanitation plan.
On the other hand, the circular economy course works on the contrast between the linear model of production and consumption and practices focused on reuse and waste reduction.
In the same vein, the training on urban solid waste discusses collection, treatment, proper disposal, and the role of recycling in sustainability and the organization of local value chains.
There are also courses aimed at innovation and urban planning.
The module on innovation environments highlights the articulation between governments, universities, businesses, and civil society, while the training in green infrastructure addresses climate adaptation, sustainable drainage, urban reforestation, and city resilience in the face of extreme events.
In sustainable tourism, the focus falls on participatory governance, social inclusion, income generation, and environmental protection.
The course on quality of life, sports, and leisure proposes a reflection on urban well-being and the use of public spaces as elements promoting physical and mental health.
These are different topics, but presented by the program as parts of the same local development agenda.
Partnership Between USP and UFSC Sustains the CEURS-SP Program
The cooperation between the two universities is not recent.
In a previous publication, UFSC had already reported that CEURS training was developed by the Graduate Program in Engineering and Knowledge Management of the institution in partnership with the Global Cities Synthesis Center of the USP Institute of Advanced Studies.
The university in Santa Catarina also recorded, in other offerings of the program, the issuance of a certificate approved by UFSC itself.
In the institutional announcement made by USP in October 2025, the IEA stated that CEURS-SP would offer nine short courses focused on strategic topics for sustainable development.
The same material reported that the initiative integrates actions of the national CEURS program, which, according to the university, had already trained over 1,300 municipal agents from more than 250 Brazilian cities.
This history helps contextualize the new round of enrollments.
Rather than an isolated offering, the courses appear as part of a broader strategy of training aimed at urban management, municipal planning, and the dissemination of practices connected to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
How to Enroll in the Free Courses from USP and UFSC
Enrollments are made through the CEURS-SP platform, maintained by the Stela Institute, where interested parties can find the courses page and the description of each training.
The list available today includes the nine modules announced in the latest opening of vacancies, with information about content, instructors, and workload.
In the announcement published on March 5, 2026, it was reported that people from all over Brazil can register to participate in the training and that the courses come with certification of qualification offered by UFSC.
To secure access, the candidate needs to go to the program page, locate the desired course, and follow the registration procedure indicated on the platform itself.
Notícia boa! Pretendo fazer vários dos cursos oferecidos!