Director of DAAD in Rio de Janeiro dedicates career to bring Germany and Brazil together
Martina Schulze and Ir. Evilázio Teixeira | Image: Bruno Todeschini
PUCRS awarded the title of University Merit on Dr Martina Schulze, Director of the Rio de Janeiro office of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) – . DAAD is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, and is one of the main partners of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazilian Federal Agency for Evaluation and Support of Higher Education – Capes.
The award was given by Br Evilázio Teixeira, on May 14. The ceremony was also attended by the Senior Vice President, Dr Jaderson Costa da Costa, the Consul of Germany for Porto Alegre, Thomas Schmitt, the Dean of the School of Humanities, Dr Draiton Gonzaga de Souza, and the Director of the Center for European and German Studies in Porto Alegre (CDEA), Dr Cláudia Lima Marques, as well as other vice presidents, deans and guests.
Holding a degree in Romanistics (Spanish, French and Portuguese), from the University of Hamburg, in Germany, and General Linguistics, from the Universidad de Córdoba, in Argentina, Martina Schulze defended her dissertation on Infinite construction and pronominal ambivalence in Spanish. She has served as a professor and graduate advisor in many institutions. She has also served as director of DAAD in the Americas and in Europe.
Contribution for CDEA
Schulze was thankful to PUCRS’ plurality and social commitment | Image: Bruno Todeschini
Schulze, who came to the University for several times to introduce development programs, played a decisive role in the creation of CDEA, under the joint responsibility of PUCRS and UFRGS. Several students of PUCRS were awarded with DAAD grants for a full doctoral degree, doctoral research internships, German language programs in Germany, among others. Faculty of the University have also been awarded with DAAD grants for research in Germany.
In his speech, Gonzaga de Souza mentioned German philosopher Hegel, as he talked about Martina’s career, which is devoted to bringing her nation and other countries, including Brazil, together. “Your attitude in addressing other people’s needs, the differences, and everything you are not are attributes of a 19th century philosopher, such as Hegel. He adds: “I have my self-consciousness not in myself but in the other.This other, because it likewise exists outside itself, has its self-consciousness only in me; and both the other and I are only this consciousness of being-outside-ourselves and of our identity”. The Brazilian version of his attitude was epitomized by Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell, in the song Berimbau: “if you don’t step out of yourself, you will die without loving anyone”.
Connecting nations
Martina played a key role in the creation of CDEA | Image: Bruno Todeschini
As she received an award from a Catholic university, Martina thought of her hometown, in the north of Germany. There she lived with her protestant mother and her father, who was open to different forms of spirituality. She was thankful to PUCRS for its “plurality, cultural attitude and social commitment”. In her view, the Institution is “a place that produces science with rationality in light of humanism”. As for CDEA, it is such a nice and pleasant thing to be able to connect the two nations. At the very center of it, she sees “a major inspiration and a beacon whose light can be seen from afar, a beacon for research in the humanities, which is an area that is going through a struggle in Brazil right now”, he added.
Br. Evilázio highlighted the relationship between Brazil and Germany, which was strengthened by Martina’s work. “The history of collaboration between the two countries shows the commitment to the efforts of internationalization and the development of an academic community that sees themselves as part of a social group, as part of a network of knowledge, scientific research and cultural exchanges that address the interests of each part, and thus, build collectivity”, he added.
On the award
The University Merit is an award that is given to people who have made relevant contribution to teaching, research and extension and university causes with relevant impact on community and the Institution.