Irish scholar will be joining the first edition of Conexões Internacionais on Sep 27
Irish researcher and Director of International Relations at Mary Immaculate College, Dr Holly Cowman, will be coming to PUCRS on Sep 27 to join the first edition of Conexões Internacionais. The event will discuss international cooperation research and Holly will deliver the lecture Ireland and Brazil: Initiatives to consolidate internationalization of higher education, in which she will be talking about the importance and challenges of internationalization of Higher Education, in a cross-cultural perspective.
Holly holds three Master’s degrees: one in Integrative Psychotherapy from University of Limerick, another in Philosophy and Literature from Mary Immaculate College, and a third in Film Studies from University College Dublin. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Media and Communication Studies. Cowman relies on a vast experience in the area of Internationalization of Higher Education, especially with student mobility through the Erasmus+ program
Internationalization in Ireland
The Irish university’s international office, which is headed by Holly, has recently been awarded with the Erasmus + ICM funding, in the amount of almost 400,000 € to support the actions of internationalization. This investment, of which she is really proud, will serve to considerably increase the mobility of faculty and students to / from different parts of the world as well as to foster short-term programs.
According to Holly, Ireland expects that 15% of the student population be formed by international students by 2020. “This propels us to cross over the line and tell our stories to a bigger audience”, adds she. She makes special mention to government initiatives to foster internationalization movements.
Financial aid provided by the government of Ireland, for instance, have been of utmost importance to attract students to the country since, without them, they would not be able to leave the country. “However, we still have a long way to go and I hope to see more investments from the government to attract students, especially the disadvantaged ones. I believe these students have a lot to offer to our university community”, claims she.
Bringing Brazil and Ireland closer together
In Holly’s opinion, there are innumerable possibilities for cooperation involving Brazil and Ireland. She claims that the Irish and Brazilians are so similar that these opportunities will only increase in number. “Brazilian students who come to Ireland to study establish strong friendship ties with our community. We have actually offered a special day to celebrate the Brazilian-Irish cooperation in Rio de Janeiro, in April this year. We had the chance to share some of the ongoing collaboration activities and discuss future cooperation possibilities”, says she.
Holly adds that events that seeks to discuss internationalization, such as the Conexões Internacionais, are extremely important in that they advance a more global community. Mobility of faculty is very valuable too, as it strengthens the ties between the institutions, and so is the mobility of students in the short and long run.
“Online programs need to be explored too, as they will be an important tool to involve students from different nationalities. Besides, projects and joint supervision are excellent means to strengthen international ties”, complements she.
About Conexões Internacionais
With the goal of discussing internationalization at the graduate level and international cooperation in research, the first edition of Conexões Internacionais is being brought to the community by the Office for International Cooprration, with the support from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (Propesq). The program will feature lectures, successful cases as well as exchanges of experiences in an effort to define international research, how it is done and the consequences of internationalization in academic terms. Check out the complete program here.
