This study presents an overview of Industrial Engineering programmes in Brazil with a focus on entrepreneurship. The research is grounded in knowledge management concepts, including a brief discussion of the knowledge society and organisational knowledge. The main objective was to analyse the curriculum of the Industrial Engineering programme at the Federal University of Paraná from an entrepreneurship perspective. To support this analysis, a national panorama of Industrial Engineering programmes was developed, identifying their main characteristics and examining how entrepreneurship education has been incorporated into higher education institutions. A descriptive research method was adopted, using data collected from the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (INEP) database. The results indicate a strong concentration of programmes in the Southeast region, representing sixty-one per cent of the total. The study also identified regional differences in the distribution of entrepreneurship-related subjects and highlighted the significant number of recently created programmes. Out of 805 programmes analysed, 443 had not yet graduated their first cohort, corresponding to fifty-five per cent, which demonstrates the relatively recent expansion of Industrial Engineering education in Brazil. This rapid growth reflects the increasing demand for professionals in this field. The findings further reveal that the curriculum of the Federal University of Paraná remains comparatively traditional when contrasted with other Brazilian institutions. The study suggests the need for curricular revision, emphasising the inclusion of entrepreneurship-related subjects to ensure that future engineers develop entrepreneurial competencies alongside technical skills, thereby strengthening innovation and professional adaptability.

Authors:
Adriana Santos, Federal University of Parana, Brazil
Amanda Santos, Pontifical University of Parana, Brazil
Bruno Santos, Federal Technological University of Parana, Brazil

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Adriana Santos is currently an Titular Professor of Industrial Engineering at Tecnology Sector, Federal University of Parana, Brazil.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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