This paper presents an educational methodology of cooperative project-based learning. This methodology emerges in the final years of the undergraduate programme of the Technical University of Madrid. The paper focuses on the evolution of this experience up to its insertion in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), incorporating the project management competences of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and broadening its scope to an entire educational strategy for undergraduate and graduate programmes. The results show how the methodology provides three main advantages: (1) it facilitates training in technical, personal, and contextual competences; (2) real problems in the professional sphere are dealt with; and (3) collaborative learning is facilitated through the integration of teaching and research.

There is growing interest in the ability of both private–public partnerships and entrepreneurship to promote sustainable rural development. This research outlines the historical chronology and the importance of the PPP (Private Public Partnership) for rural entrepreneurship; the complexity of PPP management dimensions is also analyzed. In addition, this research is based on an empiric study of a PPP for entrepreneurship in sustainable development in the North Highland of Madrid’s community, with more than 20 years of experience. This PPP is managed according to the Working With People (WWP) model, which is for the management of complex projects in the sustainable rural development field, and aims to promote the development of competences amongst the parties involved. The results show the positive effects in terms of entrepreneurship’s competences for sustainable rural development and the parties involved who create the PPP management model for entrepreneurship and the Torrearte Project.