King’s College London hosts Brazilian Minister of Education
After years of frozen budget and cuts to the sector, education is once again a top priority for Brazil’s new administration, its Minister of Education, Camilo Santana told a recent seminar hosted by the King’s Brazil Institute and the Brazilian Embassy UK.
In discussion with Katia Helena, Secretary of Primary Education and Mercedes Bustamante, President of Brazil’s higher education agency, the minister also spoke about state plans to recover after school closures due to COVID-19, “brain drain” in Brazil and the Brazilian diaspora, as well as the internationalisation of higher education in Brazil.
At the event, the King’s Brazil Institute announced it will play a leading role in UK-Brazil higher education exchange through the introduction of an exchange programme. The Cátedra Rio Branco programme will sponsor lecturers, postdoctoral students and PhD students to visit King’s, starting in 2024.
It was a pleasure to host the Minister of Education and his team, and to hear more about changes to education in Brazil. We were particularly enlivened to hear about the initiatives to internationalise higher education – and see the opportunity for King’s to foster this.
– Dr Vinicius de Carvalho, Vice Dean (International), Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
We are very excited to introduce the Cátedra Rio Branco programme and to continue to strengthen dialogue between Brazil and the UK, not just on the topic of education but also on biodiversity, Brazilian language and culture – and so much more.
– Dr Andreza de Souza Santos, Director of the King’s Brazil Institute
Brazil Minister of Education, Camilo Santana panel discussion
Dr Vinicius de Carvalho, Katia Helena, Dr Andreza de Souza Santos, Minister Camilo Santana and President Mercedes Bustamante, with Professor ʼFunmi Olonisakin at the seminar.
The seminar, hosted by the King’s Brazil Institute and the Brazilian Embassy UK, was attended by King’s researchers and students, as well as the neighbouring academic community from LSE, University College London and Imperial College London.