SINTER Participates in National Meeting in Brasília to Celebrate 60 Years of the PEC-G Program
The Office of International Relations (SINTER/UFSC) took part in the national meeting organized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Graduação (PEC-G). The event, held on 8 and 9 December, brought together approximately 150 PEC-G coordinators at the CAPES auditorium in Brasília (DF). UFSC was represented by Luana Priscilla Leite, staff member responsible for SINTER’s finance matters, who attended on behalf of the PEC-G coordinator at UFSC, Elisa Schemes, and followed discussions on funding, scholarships, and the sustainability of the program.
The celebration comes at a historic moment for PEC-G, which has registered the highest number of international applications in six decades of existence. For the 2026 selection process, the program saw an increase of nearly 1,200%, reaching 3,291 applications from students of 55 nationalities interested in pursuing tuition-free undergraduate studies at Brazilian institutions. In total, the PEC-G currently includes 104 participating higher education institutions, receiving students from 52 countries, and maintains partnerships with 73 nations.
The meeting’s program included a solemn session at the Itamaraty Palace on Tuesday afternoon (9 December), at 4 pm, during which a commemorative postage stamp marking the program’s 60th anniversary was launched.
At the opening of the event, the Secretary for Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, Marcus David, emphasized that PEC-G is a strategic educational policy for addressing global inequalities. “We need to be united – we, the countries of the Global South. PEC-G is part of this effort of global reconstruction and creation of strategic alliances that allow us to overcome inequalities,” he stated.
Representing the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES), the General Coordinator of International Programs, Helena Albuquerque, explained that the agency is involved in the program at the graduate level, through the Programa de Estudantes Convênio de Pós-Graduação (PEC-PG). A call for applications was launched after five years of interruption, and the results will be released soon. She recalled that the program has spanned different governments and has become one of Brazil’s main tools for educational cooperation.
Also participating in the opening session was the General Coordinator of Institutional Articulation of the Higher Education Secretariat (Sesu), Lúcia Pellanda, who reinforced PEC-G’s role in the internationalization of higher education. According to her, the program reflect Brazil’s historical commitment to multilateralism, solidarity, and cooperation among nations.
The meeting also brought together representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CAPES, and the Guimarães Rosa Institute.
About the PEC-G Program
Created in 1964 and officially established in 1965, the PEC-G program is implemented by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), in partnership with CAPES and CNPq. The program offers tuition-free places in undergraduate programs for foreign students, who return to their countries after graduation, helping strengthen the training of strategic professionals in partner nations. Over six decades, it has become one of the longest-standing educational cooperation policies in the Global South.
With the recent surge in applications, MEC and MRE continue discussing the future of the program, focusing on the quality of the student experience and the sustainability of the expanding international cooperation.
Learn more about the PEC-G program at UFSC by clicking here.
