IAESTE Annual Review 2018

Employers and Universities
UFOP and
IAESTE:
Commitment
and Cooperation
Throughout the
Decades
Jaqueline Pinheiro Schultz,
Coordinator of International
Affairs, Federal University of
Ouro Preto,
Brazil
Opposite: Professor Carlos Lopez Leiva (USA), Lena Reinl (Germany)
and Professor Daniel Orey (USA) on the Math Trail in Ouro Preto
IAESTE Annual Review 2018
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP) is one of the first partners of
IAESTE in Brazil. The partnership has been going on for more than 30
years. UFOP is located in the state of Minas Gerais, in the southeastern
part of Brazil. There are three campuses located throughout the state: in
Ouro Preto, the first place in Brazil to be considered a World Cultural
Heritage by UNESCO; in Mariana, the first capital of Minas Gerais; and
in João Monlevade, located in the “Steel Valley”.
The partnership with IAESTE has been very important to the University. It
contributes to enhance internationalisation, giving students the opportunity
to have a practical experience abroad and the academic community
to host international interns at UFOP. In addition, it makes possible the
exchange with countries in which the University does not have bilateral
agreements yet.
UFOP has so far been able to provide opportunities for 30 students each
year to travel abroad for internships through IAESTE, in more than 25
countries. One remarkable experience was with Felipe Barros Dias, a
Civil Engineering student that went to Poland in 2015. Due to his great
performance, Rzeszow University of Technology proposed an international
project and UFOP signed the first agreement with a Polish institution, which
has successfully been in existence since June 2016.
IAESTE interns at UFOP have a high quality practical training experience
at an institution that gathers tradition and innovation. They have access to
all the University’s facilities, including a scholarship and a free Portuguese
language course. In addition, students take advantage to live in a historical
and beautiful region of Brazil, with an amazing biodiversity and unique
cultural and student life.
Most of our student’s internships are in Biology, Engineering, Chemistry,
Communication, Management, Physics and Mathematics areas.
Teaching the IAESTE interns Maria (Germany) and Oscar (Colombia) how to
cook Pão de Queijo, a typical snack from Minas Gerais
An example of the projects is the “Math Trail”, part of a research in
etnomathematics developed in the hills of Ouro Preto by Professors Daniel
Orey and Milton Rosa, who emphasise the excellent contribution IAESTE
interns have brought to the project.
UFOP has received students from countries such as China, Colombia,
Ecuador, Germany, Jordan, Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, who have
considered their experiences remarkable and life-changing. The institution
intends to expand the cooperation with IAESTE, through ABIPE, in order to
increase opportunities of practical experience and cultural enrichment to
national and international students as well as continuing to contribute to a
history of success of IAESTE in Brazil.
53