Academic excellence and human solidarity have always been fundamental values on which Universidade Federal of Minas Gerais (UFMG), a nonagenarian Brazilian public higher education institution, has built solid pillars. UFMG has oriented its institutional action in multiple dimensions and thematic fronts by a strong commitment to these ideals. This view on the world, cultivated over decades by different generations of members of our community, is gaining visibility and has been projected beyond national boundaries, due to new educational and scientific dynamics of current times.

In this sense, our doctrine to deal with international matters is articulated in very simplified terms at three operational interdependent levels – global, regional and local. UFMG’s “foreign policy” is the vector resulting from the delicate processing of the principles defended by the University and the diversity of favorable or contrary positions to our interests and dispositions.

At the global level, we embrace the notion that UFMG should pursue a universalist conception in its international relations. We believe in the strength of pluralism, in the richness of coexistence and in the infinite possibilities stemming from the exchange of knowledge. Today, we are present in 54 countries around the world, on the five continents, through more than 600 agreements signed with approximately 430 institutions of tertiary education, covering the most varied fields of knowledge. We practice, with no doubt, the ecumenism we preach.

We aspire, however, to a qualified universalism. We wish to cooperate with all those who share the ideal of excellence and aim to build, in solidarity, the bases for the development of science, the improvement of teaching and extra-mural practices and the refinement of university governance. By these means, there is no margin for a facade universalism, concerned only with inflating numbers, generating empty agreements, or producing documents on a large scale. We are very attentive to the quality of our international academic cooperation.

At the regional level, UFMG looks for an active engagement with Latin America. There are good reasons for this. A decisive variable to explain the scale of international flows in the field of education is geography. Not surprisingly, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru are, in the last years, four of the five main countries of origin of international students who come to UFMG each semester. By the same logic, we also send an expressive number of our students on international mobility to the Southern Cone and the Andes. In addition, international activities related to community service are stimulated by the contiguity and familiarity between the peoples of the region. Not to mention the invaluable contribution brought by UFMG professors and foreign researchers, permanent or visitors, born in neighboring countries.

UFMG’s international strategy cannot be understood outside its regional context. When we evoke Latin America discursively, we talk about 650 million people, or almost 10% of the world’s population, consisting of immensurable natural, cultural and symbolic goods. Moreover, Latin American higher education institutions share a series of political and administrative challenges, as well as the common identity that has been forged between them. It seems correct to us, therefore, the bet on a Latin American platform for the internationalization of UFMG.

Finally, at the local level, we advocate a comprehensive and civic internationalization process, including the different socioeconomic profiles, which is compatible with the sense of public mission we carry. It is important that UFMG’s three functional categories – professors, administrative staff and students – are covered by the planning and initiatives carried out in the international arena. It is necessary to balance the representation of the schools of knowledge and to always seek gender parity.

The goal of a comprehensive and civic internationalization process coexists with the urgency to train and enable members of the academic community and units within UFMG – departments, post-graduate programs, academic units’ boards and central administration – to explore educational and scientific opportunities. Within this framework, the Office of International Affairs has fostered initiatives such as the training of its administrative staff, the promotion of linguistic proficiency of students and staff in foreign languages, as well as the implementation of a Transversal Course in International Studies, for undergraduate students.

Major challenges will remain on the horizon of the internationalization of Brazilian higher education. Most likely, it will be a laborious process and we must deal with the difficulties which will emerge in the course of our actions. The good news is that UFMG has a plan, collectively developed, to face difficulties in a proud and creative manner. The academic community will certainly collect important rewards from this process. We must, from now on, implement it with the utmost sensitivity and resolve.

Aziz Tuffi Saliba – Dean for International Affairs

Dawisson Belém Lopes – Deputy Dean for International Affairs

Translation: Amanda Nascimento Batista