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Integrating Brazilian and American students

Since 2010 the College of Business and Economics at the University of Sao Paulo (FEA-USP) and the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been collaborating on an annual 10-day program in Brazil.
The program brings 18 visiting American undergraduate students together with 18 Brazilian undergraduate students for a cross-cultural collaborative case competition. The experience integrates constructive knowledge transfer among participants by facilitating customized lessons on Brazilian business and economics, visits to Brazilian and multinational businesses, and exposure to Brazilian culture through the lenses of the Brazilian students. It exemplifies not only internationalization for the students traveling thousands of miles for the program, but also for those traveling from down the road. As each student is able to experience the subtleties and nuances of international communication.To ensure active participation among the students, the competition is incentivized with the Brazilian students having the chance to spend a week in the U.S. visiting Urbana-Champaign and Chicago; while the American students win a helicoptor tour of Rio de Janeiro.
The program requires a great deal of coordination and logistics, which is why the universities have partnered with a coordinating organization for all the 5 editions. The organization, Campus Brasil, is a Brazilian higher education specialty provider that assists universities in organizing and arranging everything from accommodations to company visits arrangements. Serving as a resource to university staff, Campus Brasil has been able to help the program continue to welcome new participants and expose each to the evolving commonalities between the two countries and cultures.

Author(s):

Daniel Amgarten    
Campus Brasil
Brazil

Wilton Oliveira    
FEA-USP
Brazil