Polish mission to Brazil - report from Rio de Janeiro
On March 23, members of the Polish educational mission met with the Polish community in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting was also attended by Mrs. Dorota Bogutyn, First Secretary and Consul at the Polish Embassy in Brazil. Universities had an opportunity to present their offer to Poles living in Rio de Janeiro. In the second part of the meeting Mrs. Agnieszka Latawiec from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro), who also represented Opole University of Technology, delivered a presentation "Scientific cooperation between Poland and Brazil - opportunities and barriers".
March 24 was the second day of the Polish mission presence at Salão to Estudante fairs. Polish universities once again presented their capabilities and invited Brazilian students to Poland. Polish national stand was one of the largest pavilions presented at the fair. Interest among young Brazilians was significant. During the fair, there were also 3 blocks of presentations given by multidisciplinary universities, technical universities and medical universities. Many students asked about opportunities to learn English and Polish in Poland at preparatory courses.
B2B meeting between Polish universities and State University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ) headed by UERJ Rector Prof. Ricardo Vieiralves de Castro was held on March 25. Meeting was also attended by the representatives of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ). UERJ is one of the largest universities in Brazil and its law school is ranked among the best in the country. UERJ currently counts approximately 23 thousand students and boasts 40 postgraduate programs, divided into 38 master degree courses, two professional master degree courses and 23 doctorate degree courses.
In his speech, UERJ Rector praised existing cooperation with the Jagiellonian University. Directors of university departments expressed significant interest in developing student exchange with Poland and conducting joint projects particularly in the field of energy and materials sciences, environmental sciences and the humanities.
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Poland joined the Brazilian scholarship program "Science without Borders" (Ciência sem fronteiras) in October 2013. It is addressed primarily to students of science and technology, medical and computer sciences, and it allows the most talented Brazilian students to receive education at the world's best universities. The aim of the program is to create 110 thousand international scholarships by 2015. "Science without Borders" scholarships will be available to Brazilian students successful in academic competitions or having their own academic achievements.
Information on the Polish offensive in Brazil can be found at PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland (EN version) and Polish Embassy in Brazil (PT version) websites.
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