The 2nd Internationalization Seminar (SEINTER 2016) took place on November 22nd and 23rd at UFOP’s Center of Arts Convention, in the Sabará Hall. It was held within the schedule of the eighth edition of the Encontro de Saberes of UFOP, which is an event where students share researches, experiences and knowledge from diverse areas in the University.


During his speech in the opening ceremony of the event, Prof. Carlos Magno de Souza Paiva, International Affairs Coordinator, emphasized the importance of having a specific event dedicated to internationalization, and also took the opportunity to present the goals achieved by CAINT, which were established through a Letter of Commitment presented last year during the 7th edition of the event (1st edition of SEINTER), when the theme was Internationalization. Also present at the opening table of the event were Rector Marcone Jamilson Freitas Souza, President of the Gorceix Foundation Cristovam Paes de Oliveira, Vice-Rector of Graduation Marcílio Souza, Vice-Rector of Extension Ida Berenice and Vice-Rector of Research and Postgraduation Fábio Faversani.

In this second edition, SEINTER adopted the format of "Conversation Circle". The circles were composed by 200 students who returned from international academic mobility in 2016, separated into groups of diferente fields of knowledge, along with teachers and other students, in an informal setting, specially prepared for the event.

During the “Conversation Circles”, relevant topics to the experience in other countries and international institutions were discussed, with the help of a mediator, in order to improve the understanding and to establish a more critical view of internationalization, addressing sensitive points on the themes: pedagogical practices and curriculum flexibility, learning new languages, and the importance of diversity, which succeeded into a rich debate among teachers, students and listeners.

According to Carlos Magno de Souza Paiva, the event caused positive results and exceeded expectations. "Conversation Circles” were always active and participants were comfortable sharing some of their experiences and knowledge acquired during the period they spent in foreign institutions," he said. "This was an important moment not only for the UFOP community, but also for CAINT which, from the feedback given by the participants, could use this knowledge to improve even more the quality of our work," he added.