Full Program »

Sustainability of Brazilian & LSU’s Scientific Partnerships

As Louisiana’s Flagship University, LSU is the leading comprehensive public research university in Louisiana and is one of only 25 universities in the U.S. holding federal Lang-grant, Sea-grant, and Space-grant status. Similar to the State’s rich international commercial partnerships, evidenced by the co-founding of World Trade Centers such as the ones in New Orleans, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and the over $4 billion of recent exports to Brazil, LSU has been engaged in meaningful and sustainable international partnerships with Brazil in higher education. LSU is also a partner institution in the “Science Without Borders” program. This session proposes to present as cross-section of model partnerships that LSU scientists have developed with Brazilian partners over the past few decades and proposes that the sustainability of the partnership rests upon the similarity of resource base, including human capital, and of problems that Brazil and Louisiana possess. Such affinity of resources and problems, and the commitment of science, government, and private sector stakeholders have resulted in numerous collaborative efforts related, but not restricted, to scientific research and human capital formation in engineering & computer science, earth & environmental sciences, agricultural & biological-biomedical sciences, and veterinary and physical sciences. Similar collaborations have emerged on the STEM-economic-Brazil partnership by LSU’s College of Business with the University of Sao Paulo and with the LSU School of Music & Dramatic Arts and the School of Art & Design. Over 50 years of collaboration with biologists in Brazil and at LSU have led to fundamental new knowledge of the ecology of the Amazonian Basin and tropical Earth more broadly. Video testimonials will be presented from current Brazilian students and faculty at LSU, and from faculty who have conducted collaborative research with Brazilian colleagues over the past few decades. An important, and often ignored, goal of international partnerships is the global competencies that students can gain through mutual collaboration in study abroad programs that facilitate language, cross-cultural communication and critical thinking. Challenges in developing student exchange programs with Brazilian partners will be addressed. LSU is actively exploring opportunities to establish long-term exchange programs with Brazil. Because LSU’s experience of collaboration with Brazilian partners is historically rich, this session will contribute to a meaningful dialogue on the development of sustainable international partnerships and explore ways in which to strengthen them.

Author(s):

Hector Zapata    
Louisiana State University
United States

Gary Byerly    
Louisiana State University
United States

Carlos Pinto    
Louisiana State University
United States

Guillermo Ferreyra    
Louisiana State University
United States

Harald Leder    
Louisiana State University
United States

Lawrence Datnoff    
Louisiana State University
United States