Ohio State Brazil Gateway News

Fisher College of Business Honors Cohort Program in Brazil

Students and staff from the Fisher Honors Cohort Program were in Brazil December 14 - 23. The program consists of an eclectic, tight knit group of 30 highly motivated, hand-picked students who seek to leverage educational opportunities across the entire university. It spans from the autumn semester of a student's junior year and into the spring semester of their senior year.

Ty Shepfer, senior lecturer and director of the Honors Cohort Program, and Zach Grammel, program manager at the Office of Global Business, accompanied the students in their visits to Brazilian companies and nonprofits, events and activities. The programming in Brazil was organized by Shepfer and Grammel with support from their in-country travel agency and the Brazil Gateway team.

During their stay, the group visited the Brazil Gateway's new office in Moema. Jane K. Aparecido, Brazil Gateway's academic relations and alumni community manager, spoke about the office and the relationships and opportunities between Ohio State and institutions in Brazil. Andrea Costa, senior consultant at Visagio, one of Ohio State's main partners in Brazil, spoke about Visagio, its business and consulting strategy and its connection with Ohio State through programs such as GAP (Global Applied Projects), internships available for Fisher's MBA students and its seven-week program for Visagio's consultants at Fisher.

BRASCON to be Held at Ohio State in June - Submit Your Research Abstracts until February 15!

The Brazil Gateway team started conversations with BRASCON's (Brazilian Graduate Students and Scholars Conference) leadership in 2017 and secured The Ohio State University as host of BRASCON's third conference. The conference promotes activities to enable integration, communication and professional development for Brazilian scientific community.

BRASCON was established in 2014 and its previous conferences were at Harvard University (2016) and University of Southern California (2017). With an average of 130 attendees per conference, BRASCON brings American and Brazilian lecturers to speak about important issues on STEM and other scientific areas, present research posters, network and attend an opportunity/career fair.

Participants have an opportunity to present their research orally or with posters during the conference. Those interested should submit an abstract no later than February 15. Visit BRASCON's website for more information and submission instructions.

Academic Enrichment Grants for Faculty, Undergrad and Graduate Students

The Office of International Affairs is seeking applications for its Academic Enrichment Grants, which support activities with lasting impact across the globe. The grant competition is open to faculty, graduate and undergraduates whose applications focus on research projects that address global issues, connect discipline-specific research to programs in diverse cultural settings, explores the languages, cultures, arts, social sciences and area studies and/or promotes active collaborations with institutional partners. The competition will award grants between $500 and $8,000. The deadline to apply is Monday, February 9.

Prospective applicants may download a sample application to review questions and information required before the online application goes live on January 8.

The grants are sponsored by the Office of International Affairs, the Office of Research and the Office of Undergraduate Education. Learn more and access the online application.

Volunteer at Taste of OSU with BRASA

This year, the Brazilian Student Association (BRASA) will be representing Brazil at Taste of OSU, one of the largest signature events on campus hosted by the Office of International Affairs. The event will take place Friday, February 16, and BRASA is looking for Brazillian students located in Columbus to help prepare and serve the food.

BRASA is serving two dishes: salpicão (Brazilian style chicken salad) and bolo de chocolate vegano (vegan chocolate cake). If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please contact BRASA on Facebook or at brasa@osu.edu.

Mershon Center International Security Grants for Faculty, Graduate and Undergraduate Students

The mission of the Mershon Center for International Security Studies is to advance the understanding of national security in a global context.

Projects that emphasize the role of peace-building and development initiatives globally, in addition to projects that strengthen the global gateways in China, India and Brazil are encouraged.

Faculty and graduate students can apply for research and seed grants. Undergraduates can apply for thesis and study abroad scholarships. Deadline for all of them is February 28! Visit Mershon's website for more information.

Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grants

Through the generous support of the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Critical Difference for Women Program at The Ohio State University awards faculty and graduate student research grants.

The grant competition is administered by the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grants Committee. The number of grants depends on availability of funds and grants may not exceed $4,000 for a 12-month period for faculty applicants and 1,200 for a 12-month period for graduate applicants. Requests for smaller amounts will be highly competitive; in some cases, partial funding for a proposal may be possible.

These grants are designed to support research by Ohio State faculty and graduate students that explores women's lives, gender equity or gender broadly conceptualized. They are particularly interested in proposals that will contribute to:

Knowledge about women or gender in a broad range of disciplines
Policies and practical applications that support improved quality of life for women
Theoretical innovations
Performance and artistic productions about women or gender

Proposals are encouraged from all departments, colleges and professional schools. The application deadline is Friday, February 16, 2018. Priority may be given to gender research that includes a focus on diversity or on issues and groups that remain understudied.

More information and examples of recent funded research can be found online.

Global Perspectives: Daniel Silveira Cintra

Daniel Silveira Cintra is a Brazilian student who interned through The Ohio Program, an international exchange program of The Ohio State University specializing in internships for horticulture, agriculture and turf Grass.

I am a forest engineer and last year I had the opportunity to participate in The Ohio Program (TOP). I interned at Speedling Incorporated in California. It was an intense year of learning and personal development that only such an opportunity can offer.

I learned about the program through a presentation in my university in Brazil, and I was the first student in my major to participate in the program. After sending in my application and going through some interviews, there I was, in California!

My internship involved dealing with flowers and vegetables. It lasted 10 hours daily, from Mondays - Saturdays. I was lucky to be able to intern at two different units of the company, so I stayed for eight months in Nipomo, dealing specifically with plants and quality of water, then, I moved to Watsonville, where I spent some time dealing with vegetables and office clerical work. Speedling offered trainees many technical visits to big agricultural companies, and we also participated in the California Spring Trials.

In addition to the professional development, the opportunity with TOP provided cultural knowledge, because I met people from various countries, tasted different types of food and visited many new places.

After such an experience, people feel like they become global citizens. The wish to travel the world and visit new places increases, the fear goes away, we feel more confident and agile in solving problems. I think that is what makes TOP's program so valuable, because maturity comes with it. Back in Brazil, I have graduated from the Federal University of Mato Grosso and am currently applying for a master's program in search of big opportunities in my area.

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