In 2021, six doctoral students developed activities abroad
Fernando Andriola / Photo: Personal archive
Since Nov 2020, six PhD students from the University’s graduate programs have begun their research internships on the Institutional Project of Internationalization (PUCRS-PrInt). The students were awarded the grants in 2020 and will stay abroad from 6 months to 1 year, to work on their research with the supervision of a professor at the host university.
For Maurício Gerhardt, a graduate student in the Dentistry program, this experience has been a great achievement. “I always had three feelings: the love for Dentistry, the thirst for knowledge and the feeling that I belonged to the world. Therefore, from a very young age, I wanted to study abroad, and add international experience and academic development to my profession”, he comments.
The doctoral candidate went to Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in Dec 2020, and is being advised by Prof. Reinhilde Jacobs. “Dr. Jacobs is an exemplary leader, who combines the expertise of each of her students in the development of work teams. Right now, I am collaborating in the field of dental prosthesis in the development of an Artificial Intelligence network that aims to automate the evaluation, planning and design of treatment plans based on radiographic exams. This is a very promising field of studies and a hot topic in all areas of science”, he completes.
The six doctoral students are developing work in different institutions around the world through international cooperation projects associated with PrInt’s priority areas. Find out more about them:
● Fernando de Oliveira Andriola, of the Graduate Program in Dentistry, went to AZ Saint-John’s Hospital (Belgium) on the cooperation project Technologies in Health.
● Maurício do Nascimento Gerhardt, of the Graduate Program in Dentistry, went to AZ KU Leuven (Belgium) on the cooperation project Adult Development.
● Andrei Fredes, of the Graduate Program in Law, went to Universidad de Granada (Spain) on the cooperation project Technology and Society.
● Lucas Gonçalves Abad, of the Graduate Program in Education, went to Universitat de Barcelona (Spain) on the cooperation project Human development.
● Olimar Teixeira Borges, of the Graduate Program in Computer Science, went to LUT University (Finland) on the cooperation project Technology and Society.
● Pedro Oliveira Barbosa, of the Graduate Program in History, went to Queens University of Belfast (UK) on the cooperation project Violence in Modern Times.
Maurício do Nascimento Gerhardt / Photo: Personal archive
Fernando Andriola, another PhD student in the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Graduate Program in Dentistry, is working at the Surgery Department of AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, a teaching hospital in Bruges, Belgium, which is affiliated to KU Leuven.
“I am being advised by Prof. Dr. Gwen Swennen, recognized all over the world as one of the most important surgeons in contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, given his great scientific and technological contributions to our specialty, as well as to plastic surgery. He pioneered the introduction of several concepts and methods on the use of 3D images into the diagnosis and virtual planning of orthognathic surgeries. He also worked on the development of software programs for 3D virtual planning, the creation of surgical instruments and minimally invasive surgical techniques”, he adds. Andriola’s routine is divided between research and hands-on activities. “AZ Sint-Jan has a fantastic structure, and gives residents and students access to the most advanced software and hardware for research and for virtual surgical planning of all types of cases, as well as a well-equipped operating room and a large number of surgeries performed. As a public hospital, it offers professionals, researchers and patients cutting-edge techniques, treatment modalities, materials, as well as human and technological resources”, he explains.
