The Observatory of Metropolises has been a program with a large capacity of absorption of young researchers. First, because its line of research are incorporated in institutions participating in the network, and, in some of them, integrated in the syllabus as a discipline. As a consequence, we have been able to organically incorporate M.A. dissertations and Ph.D theses in the program of the Observatory. Secondly, the network is made up of several post-graduate centers, with M.A. and Ph. D programs spread through all the regions of the country (South, South-East, North-East and North), bringing together an ample range of disciplines (sociology, geography, urban planning, urbanism, economy, etc.) inserted in a diversified network of public and private universities. This gives our work great force of attraction. In several centers we have managed to give advice for the elaboration of undergraduate monographs, focusing on case studies which introduce undergraduates to the theoretical and methodological matters related to the problems involved in the research.

The body of activities performed by the Observatory has also helped train new researchers who share the methodology and the techniques for the manipulation of data used in the research. The training activities involve short courses and seminars.

It is evident that, because public universities are involved, the permanence of researchers trained in the project meets institutional restraints, that is, they have to submit to public competition. To get around this limitation we have, whenever possible, resorted to the granting of research scholarships.

There are lots of theses and dissertations already defended or which had as advisors researchers who were members of each nucleus of the network. Such dissertations and theses were written within the scope of the research done by the Observatory. The authors benefited from the proposed methodology while simultaneously contributing with studies expanding the analysis of several themes.