IIE Gala on September 23 to celebrate US-Brazil Exchange; President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff and Praxair Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Angel to be honored
NEW YORK, August 20, 2013—The Institute of International Education (IIE) announced today that more than 300 companies across the United States are hosting summer internships for Brazilian students as part of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program. This prestigious scholarship program, administered by IIE in the United States, is funded by the government of Brazil to strengthen science and technology skills and foster innovation and international cooperation in the country’s future workforce. Several leading U.S. corporations are supporting the program by offering scholarships and internships. The companies are providing students with practical experience in their fields, while also building relationships with the students, universities, and future innovators in Brazil.
These students are among the approximately 1,500 Brazilian undergraduates who are studying at one of more than two hundred colleges and universities across the United States for one year prior to returning to Brazil to complete their degrees. Thirteen U.S. companies are hosting five or more interns each, including AbbVie Inc., Amgen Inc., The Boeing Company, Braskem America, Cargill, DuPont Company, Fitesa, General Electric, Gerdau, Merck & Co, Inc., NurturEnergy, Inc., Praxair, Inc., and Raytheon Company. (Disclaimer: In Brazil, AbbVie products are marketed and distributed by Abbott under an agreement with AbbVie Inc.) The 300+ companies across the United States that are also hosting up to four interns each represent a wide range of businesses. Information on corporate partnerships is available on IIE’s Brazil Scientific Mobility Program website.
Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) will be honored, and other leading partners will be recognized, at IIE’s gala benefit dinner celebrating U.S.-Brazil educational exchange on September 23rd in New York City. At the gala, IIE will present the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, with the Henry Kaufman Prize in honor of her vision to establish the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program, known in Brazil as Ciência sem Fronteiras, and for her efforts promoting international education as a key driver of progress in her country.
Praxair Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen F. Angel will accept IIE’s Opening Minds Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of his company in recognition of its leading role both on the Brazil – U.S. Business Council and as one of the founding corporate partners of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program. Praxair has hosted 10 interns in each of the first two years of the program and has funded 10 scholarships for students during the same time period.
The goal of the Ciência sem Fronteiras program is to encourage students of great potential to pursue careers in these areas and to develop national and international leaders in areas of global concern. By providing internships for these students, U.S. employers will enable the Brazilian government to create greater opportunities for more young and talented students, and will help strengthen commercial ties between our two countries,” said Luiz Loureiro, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Brazil.
Students are participating in a wide variety of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) projects, including:
- Studying the synthesis of nanomaterials
- Researching the process of producing biodiesel fuel from waste
- Developing instrumentation and techniques for atmospheric research
- Training in integrated product and process development approaches in aerospace science
- Observing doctors and residents in their clinical rotations in the field of small animal internal medicine
- Participating in the design and synthesis of small-molecule drug candidates
The Brazil Scientific Mobility undergraduate scholarships program is part of a Brazilian public-private partnership to grant 126,000 scholarships (100,000 funded by the government and 26,000 by the private sector) to the best students in the country to study at the world’s most respected universities. The program is sponsored by the scholarship foundations of Brazil’s Ministry of Education, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and its Ministry of Science and Technology, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).
“We are pleased to partner with the Government of Brazil and with U.S. companies and campuses to implement this important program, and we are particularly grateful for the companies who are playing a leading role in building lasting ties,” said IIE’s President and CEO Allan E. Goodman. “At a time when Brazil’s economy is expanding rapidly, and Brazil and the United States are forging unprecedented relationships in trade, energy and scientific development, we look to higher education as another area where our two countries should seek much stronger cooperation.”
About the Institute of International Education
IIE is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,200 member institutions. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. IIE also conducts policy research and program evaluations, and provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad.
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