UFSC promotes welcome event for international students
Photo by Lethicia Siqueira / Agecom / UFSC.
Artistic dance performances of samba and kuduro excited the audience present at the UFSC international community welcome day for the semester 2023-2. In addition to the welcome speeches by UFSC authorities, students received information about the University and the services available, participated in a coffee break – with pão de queijo (cheese bread), paçoquinha (peanut sweet) and guaraná (soft drink) – and also received specific guidelines for undergraduate exchange students, graduate students, and immigrant and refugee students admitted at UFSC through a special selection process.
The welcome event for the international students, held in the Rectorate Building Auditorium, was organized by the Office of International Relations (SINTER), with the support of the Prorectorate for Undergraduate Studies and Basic Education (PROGRAD) and the Prorectorate for Graduate Studies (PROPG).
Photo by Lethicia Siqueira / Agecom / UFSC.
UFSC’s international student community is currently made up of more than a thousand people, of which about 30% are graduate students. At the undergraduate level, there are 75 students in the PEC-G Program – UFSC is the second Brazilian university that admits the most PEC-G students.
The Secretary for International Relations, Luiz Carlos Pinheiro Machado Filho, was the host. In addition to him, the Rector Irineu Manoel de Souza, the Prorector for Undergraduate Studies and Basic Education, Dilceane Carraro, and the Internationalization Coordinator of PROPG, Amália Borges Dário, joined the stage. Prorectors, secretaries, school deans, members of the Rector’s Office, students, course coordinators and UFSC staff members were present in the audience.
After the presentation of UFSC institutional video, with English subtitles, the floor was opened to the participants at the table. Amália Dário invited those present to build together a respectful and enriching environment.
Professor Dilceane Carraro said that the event was the first welcome activity of the semester and that several other actions would be carried out over the next few days. She mentioned a panel discussion on harassment in the academic environment and the semester’s inaugural lecture, which will focus on mental health in higher education. The complete schedule of welcome activities for students can be accessed on the website calouros.ufsc.br.
Rector Irineu Manoel de Souza greeted everyone present and welcomed the students. According to the rector, each year there is a growth of the international student community at the University, and he credited this achievement to the work developed by SINTER. “You are entering one of the best universities in the country,” he said, citing UFSC’s positions in national and international rankings. He invited students to take advantage of the full potential of the University, which in addition to academic and professional qualification provides training for citizenship. He said that entering a university is a happy moment in people’s lives and urged students to get involved in research, outreach projects and also in student associations.
Photo by Lethicia Siqueira / Agecom / UFSC.
Professor Pinheiro Machado delivered a presentation with information about UFSC and about the internationalization process of the University. He mentioned that UFSC maintains more than 390 cooperation agreements with universities on five continents and offers various support services to international students, such as a free self-instructional Brazilian Portuguese course, offered by the Institutional Center for Languages and Translation (NILT).
The event closed with artistic presentations. Dancers André and Sofia, from Desterro Escola de Arte, performed a samba dance, while Max and Bonifácio, from the Mangolé dance group, from the Association of Angolans in Florianópolis, presented a kuduro dance. Both were greatly appreciated by the audience.
In the afternoon, the international students were able to participate in dance workshops of samba, sertanejo, kuduro, in an integration activity to get to know the University, called “Sintegra around UFSC”, or in a visit to the São José da Ponta Grossa Fortress in the Santa Catarina Island.
Translated by SINTER/UFSC.
Read the original article here.
