After consolidating its methodological and operational foundations over the past two years, the POLIS project, “New Sustainability Paradigms for Inclusive and Smart Latin-American Cities”, is now entering a decisive phase. As planned, the universities comprising the Consortium have started organising institutional talks and promotional activities for the pilot phases of TERRAS, a specialisation course in Territory, Renewal, Social Action and Sustainability.

TERRAS is set to run in the second and third quarters of 2026 as an interdisciplinary 180-hour course that combines thematic modules with a collaborative territorial workshop. Its design is the result of a co-creation process among partner universities, aimed at training professionals capable of addressing urban challenges through sustainability, participation and innovation.

This launch marks the transition to the more practical phase of the project, following the successful completion of the academic design and Train-the-Trainers programme, which enhanced the teaching skills of teaching staff across the six participating Latin American universities.

In 2025, the Consortium worked on Phase 2 of the design, focusing on the development of university-specific syllabi to adapt the content to local contexts. This content is available in the TERRAS Digital Archive, a dynamic repository that organises and preserves all the materials, documents and evidence. Efforts were also made to validate the Operational Framework for Collaborative Projects, which will guide fieldwork and co-creation processes with local communities during the project's third year.

With the start of these promotional activities, the POLIS project reaffirms its commitment to contributing to more inclusive and smarter urban development in the region, paving the way for training that links academic learning with real territorial processes.

For more information on the project, visit: www.proyectopolis.org