Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)

The international mission to China, led by the Rector, Joaquim Clotet, ended with a meeting at the Ministry of Education in Beijing. Besides Rector Clotet, the meeting counted with the participation of the Minister of Education, Jun Fang, and the Ministry’s Senior Program Officer, Guan Xin. As part of the agenda, they assessed the possibilities of academic mobility and joint research between the PUCRS and Chinese institutions. In addition, Jun Fang presented the view of the Chinese Government regarding the rapprochement with the developing countries forming the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), and highlighted the factors they consider as relevant to an effective cooperation. Then the group met with representatives of the Education, Science and Technology department of the Brazilian Embassy in China to discuss the same topics.

The PUCRS delegation – which also included the Dean of Research, Innovation and Development, Jorge Audy – stayed in China for a week, and visited institutions like Fudan University, Shanghai’s largest education center (where they discussed the possibility of promoting Mandarin courses in Brazil, besides exchanges and agreements), the Finance Department of Shanghai, and Tongji University, the largest University of engineering and architecture in the country. During the trip, which began in January, the group led by Clotet also visited Munich (Germany), Salzburg (Austria) and Tokyo (Japan). The next destination is England.