The program was a joint effort of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT). The Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) is the agency that was responsible for the scholarship program at colleges and institutes in Canada.
Sciences without Borders was a program to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives in Brazil by supporting opportunities for Brazilian students to gain valuable work and learning experiences abroad, including in Canada.
This program promotes the internationalization of science and technology, stimulates the studies and research of Brazilian students abroad, and increases exchanges and mobility for students in their undergraduate or graduate years.
What We Did:
We worked with CAPES to coordinate student scholarships and learning exchanges giving Brazilian students in STEM the opportunity to study at a Canadian college or institute in a program related to their field of study in Brazil.
Brazilian students also complemented their technical training at a Canadian institution and completed an internship, while gaining valuable French or English language skills and cultural competencies.
Continuing Impact after Science Without Borders
Building on the success of Science Without Borders, in 2016, CICan started a four-year Canada-Brazil Scholarship Program to award Brazilian students in STEM the scholarships to study in Canada at a college or institute for a period of 12 to 18 months.
For Canadian students, in 2018, CICan awarded five student bursaries to give Canadian college and institute students the opportunity to participate in 2-month fully-funded valuable cultural and international experiences in Brazil.
Key Partners:
- Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES)
- National Council for the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education Institutions (CONIF)
- Brazilian Federal Institutes