Strategies

Strategy for the consolidation of existing international partnerships, as well as the construction of new partnerships and cooperation projects to increase the relationship between the Brazilian institution and research groups abroad

Consolidation of existing international partnerships and networks and construction of new partnerships and cooperation projects in research, teaching and services were defined as strategic objectives within the institutional plan of internationalization. Since 2014, UFES has published internal calls with its own resources to finance internationalization initiatives, linked to missions abroad by researchers from the institution, visits of foreign professors to UFES to consolidate existing international partnerships, as well as the establishment of new partnerships and development of joint research projects or cotutelle. In addition, great effort has been made to prospect and disclose financing resources. Notably, the last call required from the researchers involved to submit a joint project proposal to an international funding agency (Newton Fund, Horizon 2020 and others). In addition, the International Office, in partnership with the Senior Office of Research and Graduate Studies, has been improving existing international partnerships and networks by providing support to academics for drafting, internal processing and sending international cooperation agreements abroad. Also, within the framework of existing partnerships, a lot of effort has been made to promote cotutelle of graduate students with international partners. In addition to constant exploration of new opportunities for international collaboration, through institutional visits and scientific internationalization events, new opportunities for collaboration within consolidated partnerships and networks have been developed. It was defined as an institutional strategy to enable researchers in mobility to find new opportunities for international collaboration, with a broader knowledge of the international goals of UFES. The proposal is to complement the International Office actions and make each professor not just a personal or a single program representative, but an institutional representative. We have a large number of researchers with projects in universities abroad that would have the potential to gather other groups or products developed at UFES.

Strategy to attract foreign students to Brazil

Three main strategies have been designed for this purpose. To increase UFES’s international visibility. 1. To translate websites of the graduate programs into English (finished in 2017) and Spanish (initiated in 2018); 2. To elaborate promotional material for UFES – video, folders, the International Student and Researcher Guide; 3. To present UFES in international events through its International Office; 4. To continually provide information to international rankings, in order to increase position/visibility and promote UFES in academic social medias (LinkedIn, ResearchGate and others) as a destination for foreign students; 5. To promote welcoming programs for foreign students through websites, promotional material and instruments such as the Faubai/British Council EMI guide; 6. To create and expand a database of subjects offered in English and in other languages apart from Portuguese; 7. To promote the offer of places in an expressive number for the PAEC-OEA program, in order to make UFES known as an academic destination. Promotion of the internationalization of curriculum: 1. To promote the offer of subjects primarily in English and in other languages other than Portuguese in the Graduate Programs; 2. To encourage the offer of subjects in collaboration with foreign institutions (as the COIL – Collaborative Online International Learning); 3. To promote double degree and cotutelle with excellence partners abroad; 4. To translate subject programs and syllabuses into English; 5. To promote the inclusion of subjects in international partner institutions; 6. To offer service to foreigners in other languages, as well as experiences in courses and activities of/in Portuguese or in Portuguese as Foreign Language (PFL). Welcoming and monitoring of foreign students: 1. To support foreigners linguistically through courses and actions of Portuguese as Foreign Language (PFL) before arrival and during their stay; 2. To implement in all campuses the support and integration program for foreigners called “Angels in UFES” and programs of accommodation assistance and support to foreign students; 3. To welcome and monitor foreign students with an exclusive support team of the Coordination of Incoming Mobility from the International Office; 4. To develop a database with information of professor/researcher and foreign student actions who were at UFES for the record and for sharing the developed internationalization activities.

Strategy to attract faculty and researchers with international experience

Two main strategies were designed for this purpose: Increase UFES’s international visibility: 1. To translate the websites of the graduate programs into English (finished in 2017) and Spanish (started in 2018); 2.To create UFES’s promotional material – video, folders, International Researcher and Student Guide; 3. To present and promote UFES in international events through the International Office; 4. To continually provide information to international rankings, in order to increase position/visibility and promote UFES in academic social medias (LinkedIn, ResearchGate and others) as a destination for foreign professors; 5. To promote welcoming programs for foreign students through websites, promotional material and publications such as the Faubai/British Council EMI guide; 6. To train researchers interested in mobility; 7. To train researchers in mobility about prospection of new opportunities of international collaboration emphasizing his/her attitude as an institutional ambassador. Funding mechanisms with own or external resources: 1. The Graduate Programs in UFES annually submit proposals for welcoming visiting professors based on their strategic plans of course improvements. Based on the requests, the Graduate Chamber prepares annually the vacancy allocation list for visiting professor in the institution. There are currently 12 spots, for foreign visiting professors up to a 4-year stay, and for Brazilian visiting professors up to a 2-year stay. Since 2015, the Graduate Chamber prioritizes the vacancy requests for foreign professors. 2. Currently, institutional superior councils evaluate a proposal to transform part of the spots directed to visiting professors into spots for foreign visiting professors in a short-term stay. Thus, the current 12 vacancies allocated would be divided in 2 parts: (i) short-term visits, from 3 months to 1-year stay, and (ii) long-term contract, up to a 4-year stay for foreign visiting researchers. In addition to these actions, promotion of hiring calls for visiting professors or post-doctoral researchers in other countries is part of the institutional strategy, by means of scientific associations and scientific websites such as ResearchGate, for instance.

Strategy to prepare the scholarship holders for the period abroad as well as for their return, especially in order to increase the knowledge appropriation by the institution

The preparation of professors/students before and after the period abroad was defined as one of the strategic objectives of the Institutional Internationalization Plan. Aiming to better prepare professors and students for the activities abroad, the International Office has created an exclusive team for professor/student preparation not only for the period abroad but also for his return (Coordination of Outgoing Mobility), which promotes biannual meetings for promotion, orientation, monitoring and support: 1. Informative lectures are held to disseminate existing agreements between institutional partners with the presence of students and professors benefiting from institutional programs to present the institution and share their experiences where they have been. On that occasion, information on actions required in UFES’s environment, such as suspending studies (in the case of students) or department approval (in the case of a professor), are matters of the meeting. Information from foreign institutions, such as requirements of language proficiency level, length of stay, academic calendar is also presented. General and frequent questions are clarified at the time, for example, how to choose the destination and place of residence, type of visa to ask for, vaccines required and cost of living. 2. Orientation lectures are held for those already accepted for activities abroad. These lectures are more specific by destination university, program (BRAFITEC, SANTADER and PDSE, for example), countries or by region, as they address issues directed to the environment where the stay will take place. Information and academic responsibilities prior to going abroad, for example, suspension of studies, as well as studies after the return are emphasized at this meeting. Specific contacts at each destination university are also provided. On that occasion, the Terms of Commitment between the professor/student and the International Office are signed so that they know and respect the responsibilities of each other in the process. The schedule and methods of the psychosocial support service are presented, as it is offered remotely. 3. Welcome lectures are held upon return. In them, there is a report of the social learning and experiences, as well as suggestions for the improvement or attention to the mobility and the coordination of agreements. Depending on the mobility program, these lectures can be set up as seminars, journeys, courses, or specific activities. The main purpose of these lectures is the registration, appropriation, and dissemination of what was developed during the stay abroad.