Event by the Brazilian Association of International Education took place in Rio de Janeiro
PUCRS made its presence felt at the Faubai 2018 Conference, offered by the Brazilian Association for International Education – Faubai, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), from Apr 14 – 18. The Dean of the Office of International and Institutional Affairs (AAII), Dr Heloísa Delgado, and the Relationship Coordinator of Lexis – PUCRS’ Language Center, Dr Cristina Perna, introduced the audience to the good practices in effect at the University. This year’s theme was Internationalization and Research: Challenges and Strategies. The event brought together several professionals from different countries to reflect upon and discuss new directions in the area of Internationalization of Higher Education.
Heloísa and Cristina delivered a lecture on Comprehensive Internationalization. In this perspective, universities must make every effort to strengthen the ties between teaching, research and extension activities to be experienced on and off Campus. “A comprehensive internationalization is made possible through concrete actions that encourage long-lasting international perspectives and that shape the institutional ethos, which prioritize higher education”, says Dr Delgado. In their talk, they discussed the actions in effect at the University, including the systematic assistance provided to international students on Campus.
As one of the highlights of the event, Dr Perna discussed the project on refugees developed by Beuth University, from Berlin, and the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR). Perna discussed the benefits and challenges of the actions for educational and professional assistance to new arrivals, which both institutions have implemented.
At PUCRS, several such initiatives have been taking place since 2017, in partnership with the Modern Languages program, the Pastoral and Solidarity Center and Santa Rita Parish, at Lomba do Pinheiro, in Porto Alegre. Two Modern Languages professors (Dr Cristina Perna and Dr Regina Kohlrausch), a graduate student in the Linguistics program (Graziela Andrighetti) and other undergraduate and graduate students in Modern Languages have volunteered to teach Portuguese to 30 Haitian migrants. “Some of these Haitians have been hired by PUCRS. This action will be replicated in 2018 as students will have classes every Saturday. The project will be coordinated by me and Regina”, says Cristina.
Other good practices addressed during the conference have been implemented by PUCRS. Here are some of such good practices: The partnership between São Lucas Hospital and AAII to provide hospital care to international students; new eligibility criteria for outgoing mobility students; the analysis and review of existing agreements in order to encourage and maintain the active partnerships, and the strengthening of ties between the Science and Technology Park (Tecnopuc) and AAII. All of them are intended to enhance the development processes and international actions.
