Temple joins Brazil-U.S. Partnership for the 21st Century

Shown at the signing ceremony are Brooke Walker, Hai-Lung Dai, Jorge Guimarães, Michele Masucci, Dominique Kliger, Rodrigo Andrade, Adam Shellhorse and Erika Clemons.

It was a meeting of minds.

On April 9 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a delegation from Temple attended “Brazil-U.S.: Partnership for the 21st Century,” a conference organized by the Government of Brazil to explore U.S.-Brazil cooperation in business and education.

During a special ceremony, Temple signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Brazilian Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) to establish a commitment to hosting more Brazilian study abroad students at Temple through Brazil’s Science Without Borders Program. Other top universities, including Harvard, Penn State, University of Michigan, Berkley and Yale were also invited to participate in the signing ceremony.

Science Without Borders

Science without Borders is part of the Brazilian government's larger initiative to grant 100,000 scholarships for the best students from Brazil to study abroad at the world’s best universities.

The program provides scholarships to undergraduate students from Brazil for one year of study at colleges and universities in the United States. Scholarships are being given primarily to students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Recipients return to Brazil to complete their degrees.

Student Marcelo Blaz joins Temple from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Blaz is among the approximately 700 Brazilian undergraduate students who arrived in the United States to study at the top U.S. campuses in 42 states. The students will study for two semesters at one of more than a hundred U.S. colleges and universities across the United States, and will take part in a summer internship.

While attending Temple, Blaz is taking courses in computer and information science. He is joined by two other Science Without Borders students this semester, Uriel Bertoche and Renato Takakura.

“I’ve always wanted to live and study in a different country and Science without Borders has enabled me to achieve that,” said Blaz. “This program has allowed me to leave my ‘comfort zone’ and experience life abroad, living with different people and cultures. I’ve faced many challenges and learned a great deal from them.”

Established in 1951 within the Ministry of Higher Education in Brazil, CAPES is a public foundation that awards scholarship grants to students at universities and research centers in Brazil and abroad.

“The Brazilian government is investing in its students through the Science Without Borders Program because the development of skills and competencies are needed to fulfill a knowledge-based economy,” said Jorge Guimarães, president of CAPES.

Temple currently hosts three Brazilian students in computer and information sciences through the Science Without Borders Program, with four more to come to campus this fall.

“The leaders of Brazil understand that education is key to the country’s prosperity,” said Hai-Lung Dai, Temple’s senior vice provost for international affairs. They even made it part of the practice of foreign policy.

“Temple is eager to welcome more Brazilian students into its classrooms to learn, innovate and grow alongside the domestic students and act as cultural ambassadors.”

During the ceremony’s opening remarks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at length about the importance of educational exchange and how more interaction between young people is one of the keys to a shared future. She commended Brazil for its pioneering Science Without Borders Program.

After meeting with President Obama earlier in the day, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff gave a closing speech to the conference participants touching on bilateral cooperation in a number of significant areas, including commercial and educational issues.

Anonymous