Rui Manuel Sá Pereira Lima is an Associate Professor at the Department of Production and Systems within the School of Engineering at the University of Minho, Portugal. He serves as a Senior Researcher with PhD and Coordinator of the Research Group on Industrial Engineering and Management (Lean Production Research Group) at the Algoritmi Centre. His academic leadership extends to chairing the Project-Approaches in Engineering Education Association (PAEE) and serving on the steering committee of the Active Learning in Engineering Education (ALE) network. Dr. Lima's research spans Industrial Engineering and Management with focus on Production Management, Lean and Agile Project Management, Lean Healthcare, Lean Services, and Operations Management. His educational research concentrates on Project-Based Learning (PBL), University-Business Cooperation, and applying project management concepts to improve learning. He has delivered over 60 workshops across 30+ higher education institutions in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa on Active Learning and PBL for teachers. His publication portfolio reveals strong trends in healthcare operations management, Lean methodologies across various sectors, and innovative engineering education approaches. Recent work shows growing emphasis on digital transformation, Industry 4.0 integration with traditional lean practices, and extended reality applications in educational settings. h-index 20 with 191 publications including 38 in Q1/Q2 journals Editorial board member for Production journal, Production Engineering Archives, and European Journal of Engineering Education Member of Consultative Committee on UNESCO Research Centre UCPBL Member of Academic Committee of College Doctoral Tordesillas in Production Engineering Dr. Lima has supervised 9 PhD students (co-supervised) with 6 currently under supervision, and over 80 MSc students while evaluating more than 40 MSc exams. His research projects involve international collaboration with universities across eight countries in Europe, Asia, and South America, focusing on hospital operations improvement, business process modeling, and Lean project development with industry partners. He has served as course coordinator for the integrated master's in industrial engineering and management and as an elected member of the School Council at the University of Minho's School of Engineering. His laboratory affiliations include the Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) R&D Group and the Lean Production Systems Laboratory (LPSL) at the Algoritmi Centre, where his team develops practical applications of Lean methodologies across healthcare, manufacturing, and educational contexts. His current work emphasizes the integration of digital technologies with traditional Lean approaches to address contemporary operational challenges.




