SINTER holds welcome event for international students on 22 August
This Thursday, 22 August, the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) welcomes its international student community for the second semester of 2024. A welcome session will be held by the Office of International Relations (SINTER/UFSC), in partnership with the Prorectorate for Undergraduate Studies and Basic Education (PROGRAD), through the Institutional Program for Educational Support to Students (PIAPE).
The session will start at 9 a.m. in the Building E – Annex Auditorium at the School of Philosophy and Human Sciences (CFH) on the Trindade Campus (Florianópolis). The event is aimed at both exchange students and degree-seeking students. The international students’ buddies are also invited.
This semester, UFSC is welcoming 29 undergraduate exchange students from 7 countries. Out of the 29 students, 21 are coming from France, Germany, China and Portugal through the UFSC Incoming Program and 8 are coming from Argentina, Uruguay and Chile through the Escala Grado Program of the Association of Montevideo Group Universities (AUGM). Our University is also welcoming 2 degree-seeking students from Ecuador and Panama, who have been admitted to the Medicine Program and the Administration Program through the Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Graduação (PEC-G), a mobility program managed by the Brazilian government. In addition, UFSC expects to welcome around 10 refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian visa holders admitted to UFSC through a special selection process.
Regarding the number of international students in this second semester, Fernanda Leal, Director of International Relations at UFSC, explains that “this is a small number compared to the average number of international students welcomed each semester at UFSC, due to the staff strike in the first semester of 2024, which affected students’ applications for the exchange programs. The expectation is that this number will increase significantly in the first semester of 2025”.
The event is a biannual tradition at UFSC, aimed at welcoming and integrating international students on campus. This initiative helps them to adapt to academic and social life at the university.
The event will begin with a brief opening ceremony, which will introduce the main services provided by UFSC and SINTER, followed by a welcome coffee to promote integration among participants. Immediately after, students will be invited for a guided tour around campus – called “SINTEGRA around UFSC” – to get to know the main academic and social facilities offered at the university.
In the afternoon, starting at 2:00 p.m., there will be specific instruction meetings for each international audience, including: incoming and AUGM students; PEC-G students; and students admitted through the special selection process for refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian visa holders.
To check out the full event schedule, click here.
For further information about the international exchange programs at UFSC, click here.
