This initiative of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE) was raised with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada.
On the occasion of the Annual Conference of FAUBAI 2024 entitled “Inviting a new journey”, which took place from 20 to 24 April in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the IOHE engaged the largest foreign delegation at FAUBAI with a group of 25 representatives from 20 Canadian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), who subsequently initiated a series of matchmaking meetings between members HEIs of the IOHE in Canada and Brazil to promote the development of joint investigation projects, integrating a methodology developed in collaboration with the experts from the Internationalization Hub in Brazil (iHub), the presence of a representative of Universities Canada and the support of the Consulate General of Canada in Brazil of Sao Paulo and the Office of Quebec in Sao Paulo (BQSP).
In this context, Canadian delegates continued their work from April 24 to 26 with working meetings and institutional visits in Sao Paulo (MEC/SESU, CAPES, FAPESP, UNICAMP, UNESP, uMackenzie, IFSP and UFABC), with the Fundación Araucaria in Curitiba, Paraná, and in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, under the leadership of the Associação Catarinense de Fundações Educacionais (ACAFE). Completing his journey to Florianopolis, Dr. Andrew Dean, VP Research and Innovation at Lakehead University and Chair of the CALAREO Consortium mentioned that “The research collaboration mission organized by IOHE to Brazil gave us a perfect opportunity to develop and also strengthen research partnerships between CALAREO and the Brazilian higher education system”.
This idea of collaboration in research originated in 2023 during the Conference of the Americas of International Education (CAEI) which took place from 6 to 8 November in Nevada. Event that had the participation of a high-level Brazilian delegation that allowed IOHE to design a bilateral agenda that includes collaboration in investigation between Canada and Brazil.
“We have found that the two countries have many characteristics in common in terms of territory, landscape, and of course in their respective field of action in research activities: Agronomy and agri-food, Aviation and aeronautics, Energy transition, Digital transformation of Higher Education , as well as a series of incentives at the federal and state/provincial levels in both countries to support bilateral research initiatives.” said Dr. David Julien, IOHE Executive Director.
Taking advantage of its presence in Santa Catarina and the presence of the Secretary of External Relations of the State of Santa Catarina Juliano Froehner, the IOHE also ratified a collaborative agreement with ACAFE, represented by its Executive Director Paulo Ivo Koehntopp, and facilitated the adhesion of 12 ACAFE members to IOHE. In parallel, the IOHE was also present in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, supported by the BQSP and thanks to a project supported by the Ministry of International Relations and Francophonie (MRIF) of Quebec, facilitating the links with the state authorities and the IOHE VP-Brazil led by the Universidad Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE).
The International Education Division of Global Affairs Canada played a fundamental role in this project by provising a seed fund and offering the moral support and trust that has allowed IOHE to consolidate the mission to Brazil in which the Canadian HEIs could have a real understanding of the Brazilian institutions which can now facilitate the search for a “sister institution” to start a different joint research projects that include priorities and opportunities for both countries.
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To find out about the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE): https://oui-iohe.org/en/