Sugarcane Biorefineries provide an important issue to several applied fields
of technologies because they integrate sustainable sugarcane byproducts utilization
with basic sciences and core technologies. However, for competiveness, they require
highly multidisciplinary skilled human resources in engineering, agronomy, biology,
economics and others. In Mexico, sugar agro-industry produces a single
undifferentiated final product (sucrose) with the implementation of highly polluting
conventional transformation processes, and with demands of fossil energy. It also
creates low level of integration of universities for the implementation of technological
innovations in the sugar industry and a number of socioeconomic constraints and low
environmental sustainability. Therefore, the University of Veracruz, with professionals
from all areas of knowledge, located in the Mexican region with the highest sugar
production, has carried out a sugarcane master’s program with the commitment to
enhance sustainability, training, development of educational capabilities and
technology transfer and professionalization for sugar industry stakeholders since 1996.
The Master's Program allows to develop skills of agronomic and sustainable conversion
technologies, and strategic management for graduates. It promotes regional
development to build biorefineries according to sustainable development and
competiveness with a wider international perspective and also the participation of sugar
and ethanol technicians sharing practical experiences. This approach discusses in detail
the structure of graduate academic program as well as the necessary technology and
research actions and the fundamental participation of technical graduates for the
transition from traditional sugar industry to sugarcane biorefinaries.
Keywords: Competiveness, Ecological constraints, Master´s program, Productive
diversification, Socioeconomic constraints, Sugar industry, Sugarcane biorefinery,
Sustainability, Veracruz Mexico.
