The Center for Ecology and Socio-Environmental Development of Macaé (NUPEM / UFRJ) is a multidisciplinary research center of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), historically associated with UFRJ's Institute of Biology. NUPEM/UFRJ aims to stimulate and strengthen UFRJ's research, teaching, outreach, and technological development activities in the field of Biological Sciences in the different regions of the State of Rio de Janeiro. 

The institution is responsible for:

1) Contributing to the improvement of primary and secondary education in these regions through Continuing Education activities and other activities of a technical-scientific nature;

2) Contributing, through logistical and institutional support, to the development of the disciplines of undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses of the Institute of Biology and other units of UFRJ;

3) Extending the benefits of knowledge to society at large in these regions via academic activities disseminating science and services, aiming to contribute in an effective way to the scientific and ecological education of the regions' populations, an indispensable condition for the development of an ecologically sustainable society.

NUPEM/UFRJ is directly responsible for two undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences (Bachelor's and Educational License degrees) both of which are well rated by the evaluation conducted by the Brazilian Ministry of Education. We are also responsible for the Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences and Conservation (PPG-CiAC), an interdisciplinary course offering Master's and Doctoral degrees. NUPEM/UFRJ represents a successful model of multidisciplinary integration, whose history and philosophy guided the construction of the UFRJ-Macaé campus.

Currently, around 400 students from many different undergraduate courses on the UFRJ-Macaé Campus and around 53 professors utilize and develop their activities in the NUPEM / UFRJ facilities. The research these students and educational professionals develop covers all levels of organization, from organic molecules to ecosystems, focusing directly on the biological and systemic diversity of the northern half of the state of Rio de Janeiro.