Importância do estudo da sustentabilidade nos cursos de graduação e pósgraduação de Engenharia Civil: estudo de caso em IES de Pernambuco

Abstract

In light of the currently understood importance of sustainability, this article aims to analyze the training of civil engineers at the University of Pernambuco to verify if the concepts and applications of the three main dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) are covered in the classroom, during practical applications, and within the university’s own management. The University of Pernambuco was recently named the sixth best civil engineering program in northeastern Brazil by the newspaper Folha de São Paulo. In this study, the curriculums of the undergraduate and graduate civil engineering programs were analyzed and specific questionnaires were developed for professors and students with questions related to teaching, learning, and practice of sustainability concepts. Following the application of the questionnaires, the responses were compiled and analyzed in order to verify the inclusion of sustainability concepts in the training of engineers, as well as to measure the importance of environmental, economic, and social dimensions from the perspectives of both teachers and students. The results showed that most students and teachers value and claim to understand the implementation of sustainability concepts in civil engineering, but that not all can distinguish the actions of the social dimension when applied to construction, having a greater appreciation and understanding of the environmental and economic dimensions.