The vacancies are aimed at young people from developing countries with which Brazil has educational agreements
Yesterday (8), the Rector’s Office of the State University of Maringá (Universidade Estadual de Maringá - UEM) hosted a reception for 16 international students, through the institution's International Cooperation Office (Escritório de Cooperação Internacional - ECI). The event was attended by the chief of staff, Maria Luisa Furlan Costa, representing the rector Leandro Vanalli, the Associate Provost for Teaching Affairs (Pró-Reitor de Ensino - PEN) Marcos Vinícius Francisco, and the professor from the Nursing Department (Departamento de Enfermagem - DEN) in charge of academic mobility at the International Cooperation Office, Mayckel Barreto.
According to the person in charge of academic mobility at the International Cooperation Office, out of the 16 students who have arrived to study at UEM, 10 are from the Undergraduate Student Agreement Pre-Program (Pré-Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Graduação - Pre-PEC-G), a federal government program in collaboration with developing countries. This course aims to provide an introduction to the Portuguese Language, aiming to train and qualify international students through free vacancies in undergraduate courses at Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (Instituições de Ensino Superior - IES). The vacancies are aimed at young people from developing countries with which Brazil has educational and cultural agreements, mainly from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition to the 10 students mentioned above, another six are part of the Undergraduate Student Agreement Program (Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Graduação - PEC-G), coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Educational Issues Division, and by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with Higher Education Institutions across the country. The international students selected will study for free and will be taking courses at UEM.
For Barreto, "UEM and the International Cooperation Office have been working hard to expand our partnerships, increase this mobility and allow more students from abroad to get to know our reality, our courses and our training process. We are therefore committed to welcoming them properly. Out of the students arriving now, we have students from Cape Verde, Angola, Senegal, Paraguay, Jamaica, Nigeria, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Gabon and Benin. In addition, we have already received students from Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador, who are still studying with us”.
The head of the Rector’s Office, Maria Luisa Furlan Costa, greeted everyone: "We are very happy to welcome you, but you know that you have the full support of our management team so that you have a good stay here in Brazil. I know that this is a collective, respectful and careful effort on the part of the International Cooperation Office team. We know that receiving students from abroad is a challenge, because the first barrier is the language, which we need to overcome in order to internationalize a university. You will encounter difficulties on a day-to-day basis, but you have the support of the office, with its tutors and staff. It's a joy to see that we're welcoming 16 students, who from now on are part of our community, they're our students too. Welcome."
The Associate Provost for Teaching Affairs (Pró-reitor de Ensino - PEN), Marcos Vinícius Francisco, wished: "May this experience be as fruitful as possible, may you be able to take advantage of everything the university can offer within your conditions and limitations. And may this stay be unforgettable in your lives."
Also present at the reception were the International Cooperation Coordinator, Renato Leão Rego, International Cooperation Director, Marcio Pascoal Cassandre, the person in charge of Academic Mobility at the International Cooperation Office, Lilian F. G. Berdu and other collaborators.
Translated by: Felipe Piva
Proofread by: Felipe Lisbôa