Speaking at AmCham Event in Sao Paolo, IIE President Allan Goodman Releases New Report;
Announces New IIE Corporate Membership Program and Upcoming Delegation to Brazil
NEW YORK and SAO PAOLO, October 29, 2012—The United States currently hosts the largest number of students participating in the Brazil government’s Scientific Mobility Program, according to a new briefing paper released today by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The paper, The Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program in the United States: A New Phase in U.S. Brazil Educational Exchange, presents findings from an analysis of the first year of the program in the United States.
IIE’s President launched the report today at a special event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo, titled “Creating the New Generation of Innovators through Experience Abroad.” Dr. Goodman also announced a new corporate membership program that will help private sector corporations connect with global talent and the more than 1,000 colleges and universities that are part of the Institute’s IIENetwork membership program. To help U.S. institutions implement and sustain partnerships with institutions in Brazil, IIE also announced the launch of a new International Academic Partnership Program with Brazil.
In July 2011, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced the creation of a new scholarship program known as Ciência sem Fronteiras, a multiyear initiative to send 75,000 fully funded Brazilian students abroad for training in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, with an additional 25,000 scholarships expected to be funded by the private sector.
IIE has been working closely with Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States and Brazil, with CAPES, the Brazilian federal agency Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, and with CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, an organization within the Ministry of Science and Technology, over the past year on bringing the undergraduate students in this program, now titled the Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program, to the United States to complete up to one year of non-degree study, in addition to an academic training or internship component
“We are pleased to be a partner with the Government of Brazil to implement this important program,” 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 ties in trade, energy and scientific development, we look to higher education as another area where our two countries should seek much stronger cooperation. President Rousseff’s initiative is unique for international education. It maximizes the opportunity for inter cultural learning and assures that students will return home for their degrees and jobs. The scale and speed of implementation is unprecedented. In short, this is a model for how to create a maximum of impact in a very short time. Brava.”
The program was created to promote scientific research, invest in and fund educational resources within Brazil and outside of the country, increase international cooperation in science and technology, and initiate and engage students in a global dialogue through international education. Scholarships are available for students to study in their choice of one of more than 12 countries. The United States currently hosts the largest number of these Brazilian students, followed by France, Portugal, and Spain.
According to the report, 1,954 Brazilian undergraduate scholarship students have been placed at 238 U.S. host institutions in 46 U.S. states as of the fall 2012 semester. The program is projected to enroll 2,500 students per academic year for the next five years of the program.
Nearly three-fourths (71 percent) of the students are enrolled in engineering and computer science courses, specifically in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer sciences, industrial engineering, and chemical engineering.
The top five U.S. host states are: California, New York, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. The leading U.S. host institutions are University of California – Davis, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Iowa State University, University of Colorado – Boulder, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, and Western Michigan University, each hosting more than 30 Brazilian undergraduate scholarship students.
A key part of the program includes an opportunity for students to undertake academic training, including internships. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of students participated in internships, according to the IIE Briefing Paper. The private sector has been eager to provide internship placement, and IIE has identified nearly 100 corporate partners/internship hosts so far, including major global corporations such as Amgen, Boeing, Cargill, DuPont, GE, and Praxair. The report lists all of the private sector partners and provides examples of internships that the students have undertaken in the first year.
At the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil event, IIE also announced the fourteen U.S. campuses that have been selected to take part in this year’s International Academic Partnership Program with Brazil. IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education will work closely with the campuses on a year-long strategic planning process in the current academic year, and they will take part in an IIE-led U.S. higher education delegation to Brazil next spring. Earlier this year, IIE led a delegation of high-level officials representing 18 U.S. higher education institutions to Brazil to meet with potential partner campuses and learn about Brazilian higher education.
The Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education prepares global citizens through higher education and international exchange. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 18 offices worldwide, over 1,000 member institutions, and thousands of talented individuals who participate in IIE programs. 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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