Sustainability has become a trend topic in the recent years – and it seems like its importance will only increase. Every day, governments, companies and people start realizing their behaviors can directly impact our world, and the consequences of such impacts may rebound positively or negatively in our daily life. In the energy field, companies and people started realizing even the richest lands in natural resources may have their days of wealth counted. As a result of this recent awareness, a huge wave of initiatives focused in optimizing old technics and creating new ways to produce power are now taking place. Today, it is all about discovering renewable sources of energy.
Our program aims to provide the participants a chance to see how the renewable energy subject is being treated in a developing country. Renewable energy accounted for more than 85.4% of the domestically produced electricity used in Brazil, according to preliminary data from the 2009 National Energy Balance, conducted by the Energy Research Corporation (EPE). After the oil shocks of the 1970s, Brazil started focusing on developing alternative sources of energy, mainly sugarcane ethanol. Furthermore, Brazil held its first wind-only energy auction in 2009, in a move to diversify its energy portfolio. Hereupon, the program will put the participants in contact with those responsible for developing this sector in the country, as well as with those studying the field. Moreover, students will also visit socially and environmentally sustainable organizations, interact with Brazilian students and discuss with those in the front lines of the sustainability battle.
SUGGESTED CITIES
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
CURITIBA
Curitiba is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city's population numbered approximately 1,879,355 people as of 2015, making it the eighth most populous city in the country, and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The city is an important cultural, political, and economic centre in Latin America and it has long garnered praise for being one of the world’s best models of urban planning. In 2010, the metropolis was awarded with the Global Sustainable City Award, given to cities and municipalities that excel in sustainable urban development. According to US magazine Reader's Digest, Curitiba is the best "Brazilian Big City" in which to live. With a praised city plan, the city is incorporating the use of renewable ways to create energy in its daily routine, transforming transportation, leisure and the infrastructure of the metropolis, as a whole, in a more sustainable system.
SÃO PAULO
With a population of 20 million people, São Paulo is known for its fast pace. The city is not only an economical center but also a cultural reference and example of cosmopolitism. Indeed, the city is a melting pot, having a significant number of inhabitants from several nationalities - and this diversity can be seen mixed up while walking in any corner of this concrete jungle.
In the recent years, the metropolis has been developing its infrastructure towards a more sustainable project, with the goal of providing a better life quality to its inhabitants and make a better use of its resources. From the reform of city parks, to the creation of bike lanes around the metropolis, São Paulo is now passing through a developing process that converts the city into a promising project in the future.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
ARRIVAL: São Paulo International Airport - Transfer to the Hotel - Welcome to Brazil! For now on, relax and let us take care of everything to make sure you'll have an amazing experience.
- SÃO PAULO CITY TOUR - Since the 60s, São Paulo is the main economic center of Brazil. With a metropolitan population of nearly 20 million inhabitants, São Paulo is the largest city in South America.
Day 1 - Sunday
Day 2 - Monday
Day 3 - Tuesday
Day 4 - Wednesday
- LECTURE AT A UNIVESITY – Developing New Methods to Improve the Production of Renewable Energy
- ACTIVITY WITH BRAZILIAN STUDENTS
Is this itinerary too short or too long? We are open to adjust it in order to fit your needs!
Day 8 - Sunday
Day 5 - Thursday
- VISIT TO EMBRAPA - The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) is a state-owned research corporation. Their mission is to "develop research, development and innovation solutions for the sustainability of agriculture, for the benefit of Brazilian society".
- VISIT A SUGAR CANE MILL – Brazil's Southeast region accounts (since 2010) for almost 70% of all domestic production of sugar cane.
- HOTEL CHECK-OUT / TRANSFER TO CAMPINAS AIRPORT
- FLIGHT TO CURITIBA (PR)/Hotel Check-in
- VISIT TO CURITIBA’S CITY HALL - Putting Sustainable Plans Into Action: Dealing With the Challenges of a Big Metropolis
- HOTEL CHECK-OUT / TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
- FLIGHT TO RIO DE JANEIRO (RJ)/Hotel Check-in
- VISIT TO CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE - Inaugurated in 1931, the statue is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Trying to describe the magnitude and the beauty of this monument is useless: you need to visit to understand. The view speaks for itself.
- VISIT TO A SUPPLIER ENERGY COMPANY – i.e. Copel - It is the largest company in Paraná and works with the latest technology in the areas of generation, transmission and distribution of energy.
‐ CURITIBA CITY TOUR FOCUSED ON THE CITY’S SUSTAINABILITY PLAN - Reference in urban planning, public transport and sustainability, Curitiba is one of the most populous cities of Brazil. The capital of Paraná state is now considered as one of the cities with the best quality of life of the country.
Day 7 - Saturday
Day 10 - Tuesday
- VISIT TO EPE – Empresa de Pesquisa Energética - EPE is a research institute of the federal government, which is focused on providing services in the area of studies and research to support the planning of the energy sector, such as electricity, oil and natural gas and its derivatives, coal, energy sources renewable and energy efficiency, among others.
- Hotel Check-out
- Transfer to the Airport
RETURN FLIGHT - Tchau! We hope to see you again soon! If you loved this experience as much as we did, you'll probably understand the meaning of the portuguese word "Saudade".
Day 9 - Monday
- FAVELA CONNECTION: Cantagalo is a pacified community located between Copacabana and Ipanema, full of culture, history and a beautiful view of the city. Get to know how 22% of the inhabitants in Rio de Janeiro live.
- BEACH TIME/FREE TIME - The state of Rio de Janeiro is the one of the longest coasts of Brazil, being the city itself home to some of most famous beaches in the world, as the Copacabana beach, Ipanema beach and Barra da Tijuca beach.
PRICING
CONTACT
SAFETY
Unlike other countries, most Brazilian universities do not offer accommodation on campus for students. Therefore, Campus Brasil has partnerships with several housing providers in order to provide the best option according to your students needs and the program style. We will work with you to provide high quality accommodations where you feel comfortable and at home.
Suggested accommodation for this program: 3-star hotels
- VISIT TO THE BRAZILIAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION – The The Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Associação Brasileira de Energia Eólica – ABEEólica) brings together all companies responsible for generating wind power in the country. Its goal is to promote the production of electricity from wind power as an additional source of national energy matrix; and defend the consolidation and competitiveness of the wind sector, mainly through a long-term government program.
- VISIT TO A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMPANY - Besides respecting the environment, corporate sustainability has the ability to change positively the image of a company with consumers. With the increase of environmental problems, more and more consumers are seeking goods and services from sustainable enterprises.
- VISIT TO A NGO WORKING WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS – i.e. NGO Sociedade do Sol - The NGO is dedicated to the development of social technologies in solar and renewable energy and environmental education programs. Its performance is dedicated to developing low environmental impact solutions and reduced costs for power generation working with communities and organizations.
- HOTEL CHECK-OUT
- TRAVEL TO SÃO CARLOS OR PIRACICABA (SP)/Hotel Check-in
Day 6 - Friday
Here are some suggestions of what you could add...
- CASE COMPETITION: In this activity participants will be divided into teams and will be given a challenge, according to the central theme of exchange program. The group with the best performance in the accomplishment of the task will receive an award. The case competition can be also realized with the participation of Brazilians that study or work in the sector at issue.
- SERVICE-LEARNING: Provides opportunities where students can apply their valuable research + classroom knowledge to contribute to advancing an organizations' goals, positively affecting change in the community.
WHO IS THIS PROGRAM FOR?
The program is intended for undegrad and graduated students from the following areas: Sustainability, Archtecture, Environmental Engineering and any related area. Can't your students speak Portuguese? That's not a problem! Our program is totally given in English, so there's no need to have any previous knowledge of our native language. Nonetheless, by the end of the trip you should be able to use a few useful words.
These may be the main cities to do learn about renewable energy and sustainability in Brazil, but they are surely not the only ones. Hence, we are we own itineraries in other cities that are highlighting in the field. Feel free to add it or replace regular cities in your exchange!
Knowing that details make all the difference to the success of a program’s itinerary and bearing in mind that Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, Campus Brasil always works with the best mobility options, with transportation providers that offer flexibility and comfort to ensure that your group is always on time, on schedule and on point for the proposed activities. Our coordination is here to facilitate the logistics and also provide learning through Brazilian landscapes.
"Campus Brasil is my favorite educational travel agency in the world, and I have worked with many. In addition to arranging top-notch company visits, business lectures and cultural activities, they also took our students to social events in the evenings. At the end of each trip, my students have not only learned how business in Brazil functions, they also go home having made close friends with the people from Campus Brasil. Campus Brasil has made planning business-oriented study abroad trips so easy that I am using them for three trips this year."
Christine Gozdziak
Assistant Dean of Business International Programs at the University of Illinois
ACADEMICS
- LECTURES: The most traditional way of learning. Campus Brasil works with top-notch universities (see some of them here) in order to provide the best content to the students.
All lectures are held in English.
- ORGANIZATION VISITS: We don't want your students to spend the entire visit inside a classroom when there is a whole new world to discover outside it. The organization visits can vary from a dialogue with a senior manager, director or CEO to a half-day visit including a tour of the organization facilities. The most important part of any organization visit is that your students will be free to ask any question they want. Campus Brasil will send more information about the company to be visited including articles, videos, etc, so everybody can prepare questions.
Your students' safety is an absolute top priority. We live and work in Brazil and know how to safely navigate this vibrant country we call home. Campus Brasil offers the following safety measures:
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Pre-departure orientation - As soon as the program is confirmed, we send a document with all the tips and necessary information regarding safety, in addition to logistics and other considerations.
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Arrival orientation - On the first day we gather for a session with the group to explain the dos and don'ts while in Brazil;
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Housing - We select accommodations in safe neighborhoods where your students will be comfortable;
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Local coordinators - We provide bilingual coordinators that accompanies the group 24/7. That means they go out with the students in the evening, to make sure everybody is safe and having a great time. They also stay at the same hotel the group will be staying, so they are available for any emergency. For any group with more than 12 students, Campus Brasil provides 2 coordinators;
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Emergency number - Campus Brasil has a telephone number available 24/7;
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Safety & Crisis Management - This document is a plan that contains all for our procedures to predict risks and respond to a variety of emergency situations.
Click here and get to know more about pricing...
You can write to info@campusbrasil.org, call us at +55 11 2679-0555. If you prefer, you can also fill out the following form:
Our programs combine organization visits, lectures at local universities and cultural activities. This combination aims to involve your students and make them have a great academic experience in Brazil. Get to know more about ways they will learn:
RIO DE JANEIRO
With an amazing view and one of the richest cultural agenda of Brazil, Rio is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches. Owning an incredible combination of natural landscapes with urban scenery of concrete, Rio is an example of city that face challenges every day in order to harmonize the population increase with the protection of its natural and historical heritage. To keep intact the identity of this continually growing city’, several projects focused in promoting a sustainable development are being created and the use of renewable energies in its daily routine is becoming a more solidified habit every day.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
Day 11 - Wednesday
- HISTORICAL CITY TOUR - Major route of international tourism in Brazil, Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, Rio de Janeiro is the most famous Brazilian city in the international picture, working as a national "portrait". Due to its huge importance, the city was capital of the country until 1960, when the position was transferred to Brasilia. It's worth emphasizing, in 2012, part of the city was classified as Humanity's Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
- VISIT TO THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SUSTAINABILITY (IIS) – This organization develops interdisciplinary research in line with the emerging field of Sustainability Science, provides assistance to governments, intergovernmental agencies, NGOs and companies seeking solutions to their sustainability challenges, and develop and implement projects.
- VISIT TO JARDIM BOTÂNICO - The Botanical Garden shows the diversity of Brazilian and foreign flora. There are around 6,500 species (some endangered) distributed throughout an area of 54 hectares, and there are numerous greenhouses. Recently, The Botanical Garden won the June 5 Award, that seeks to recognize and disseminate sustainable practices, planned and implemented by the Government.