On Thursday 20 June ANU staff and students gathered to farewell this year’s Science without Borders (SwB) students, who will be returning to Brazil at the end of the exam period.
The event was held in the Ian Ross tearoom and guests received a brief farewell from Professor John Hosking, Dean of Engineering and Computer Science, followed by refreshments.
Science without Borders is a large scale scholarship program, primarily funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) through their respective funding agencies CAPES and CNPq.
The program seeks to strengthen and expand the initiatives of science and technology, innovation and competitiveness through international mobility of undergraduate students and researchers. It’s been designed by the Brazilian Federal Government to address shortages of engineering, health sciences, life sciences and technology graduates in Brazil, by granting Brazilian university students scholarships to study at some of the best universities in the world.
ANU currently has over 51 SwB students, with more arriving at the beginning of each semester. Students participating in the program were able to study at ANU for one year as part of their home institution’s undergraduate degree in any of the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
The main purpose of the program is to “launch the seeds of what could revolutionize the R&D system and aim to expose Brazilian students and researchers to an environment of high competitiveness and entrepreneurship.” (SwB website)
To find out more about the Science without Borders program please click here.