Hundreds of Brazilian students have arrived in the United States this past week starting a program called Science Without Borders. 650 college students will be studying in over 100 U.S. universities in 42 states across the country.
They are just the first wave of academics participating in Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s Science Without Borders program to come to American classrooms.
Last year, American president Barack Obama and his colleague Rousseff set complementary goals for international education.
Obama announced the “100,000 Strong for the Americas” initiative to increase international study with a target of 100,000 students from Latin America and the Caribbean studying in the US, and a reciprocal 100,000 students from the US studying in that region.
Additionally, President Rousseff’s “Science Without Borders” scholarship program will support as many as 101,000 outstanding Brazilian students for international study in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the next four years.
“Our relationship with Brazil continues to grow, and this investment through educational exchanges will continue to benefit our society for generations,” said the US State Department.
The program has financial support from private and state companies in Brazil, many of which have already committed to employing the students after the complete their studies and return home.
