Internacionalization

The Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering (PPGEQ) at UFSCar is continuously committed to maintaining a high level of excellence. Among its various academic policies are the active participation of students in the “sandwich” PhD program abroad (including cotutelle agreements), encouragement for faculty members to pursue postdoctoral research abroad, promotion of student and faculty participation in international conferences, guest lectures at PPGEQ by foreign researchers, and scientific cooperation agreements with foreign institutions for conducting research projects, among other initiatives.

Noteworthy are the major research projects led by faculty members of the Program (funded by CNPq, FAPESP Thematic, FAPESP-Shell, FAPESP-GlaxoSmithKline, DAAD, among others), as well as other external research projects in which PPGEQ faculty participate as researchers, fostering increased interaction with top research groups abroad, including:

Dalhousie University, Faculty of Engineering, Halifax, Canada;
Institute of Catalysis, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria;
Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry, Spanish National Research Council (ICP/CSIC), Madrid, Spain;
IMDEA Energy Institute, Madrid, Spain;
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany;
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium;
Catalysis and Spectroscopy Laboratory, École Nationale Supérieure d`Ingénieurs de Caen, Caen, France;
Purdue University, Laboratory of Renewable Resources and Engineering (LORRE), Purdue, USA;
Monash University, Clayton, Australia;
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA;
Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland;
Polytechnique Montreal, Université D`Ingénierie, Montreal, Canada;
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, USA;
Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark;
University of Concepción, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Concepción, Chile;
Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain;
University of Guadalajara (UdeG), Guadalajara, Mexico;
University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia;
Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands;
University of Minho, Braga, Portugal;
University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany;
Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Catalysis and Energy Laboratory, Barcelona School of Engineering, Barcelona, Spain;
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;
University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, USA;
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;
University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain;
West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.

Until 2018, PPGEQ participated in the PDSE/CAPES (Sandwich PhD Program Abroad), being among the top 5 graduate programs at UFSCar sending the most students abroad through this program.

From 2019 onward, with the implementation of UFSCar’s Strategic Internationalization Plan and the approval of the CAPES-PrInt Internationalization Institutional Project (external link), PPGEQ has strengthened its goal of achieving international excellence by participating in four priority themes:

Strategic Materials
Industry and City Revolution: Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities
Integrated Technologies for Health: from Prevention to Rehabilitation
Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functions, and Sustainability

This participation has been made possible by the solid foundation of the faculty, research lines, ongoing projects in the Program, and partnerships with various research groups abroad. PPGEQ’s involvement in these strategic themes enables research missions, joint research, cotutelle arrangements, and increases opportunities for domestic scholarships to attract young talent, postdoctoral researchers, and researchers from abroad. It also allows for the submission of applications to multiple funding calls to increase the number of sandwich PhD scholarships abroad for its students, as well as improve the qualifications of its faculty through the Junior and Senior Visiting Professor modalities offered by the PrInt Program.

As a result of the PrInt Program, a scientific cooperation agreement was formalized between West Virginia University and UFSCar to carry out the project “Development of an Integrated Modeling, Estimation, and Control Framework for Bioprocesses Towards Modularity,” coordinated by PPGEQ faculty member Prof. Marcelo Perencin de Arruda Ribeiro. Furthermore, Prof. Ribeiro led the PPGEQ event BioCON 4.0 - The Bioprocess, Control, Optimization, and Industry 4.0 (June 1 and 2, 2020), co-organized by Prof. Fernando Lima of West Virginia University, Prof. Heleno Bispo of the Federal University of Campina Grande, and Prof. Ribeiro of PPGEQ/UFSCar.

Currently, the CAPES-PrInt/UFSCar Program, along with other programs from national funding agencies (CNPq Sandwich PhD – SWE/CNPq and FAPESP-BEPE/FAPESP Research Internship Abroad Fellowship), play a fundamental role in continuing PPGEQ’s internationalization policy. These programs have enabled several faculty members and students to expand their knowledge and training at internationally recognized institutions abroad.

Currently, PPGEQ has two students abroad participating in sandwich PhD programs.

PhD Programs Abroad
Ongoing PhD Abroad (pdf 34KB, in portuguese)

Completed Sandwich PhD Abroad (.pdf 71KB, in portuguese)

Postdoctoral Research Abroad or Senior Research Fellowships
Ongoing
Currently, there are no faculty members abroad.

Completed (PPGEQ faculty from 2010 to 2022)

2021-2022: Prof. Antonio José Gonçalves da Cruz, Purdue University, Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, Purdue, USA; funding by CNPq (Postdoctoral Research Abroad – PDE 2020); period: 10/01/2021 to 09/30/2022; supervisor: Prof.
2017-2018: Prof. Gabriela Cantarelli Lopes, University of British Columbia, UBC, Canada; funding by FAPESP (BEPE – Postdoctoral Research); period: 02/01/2017 to 01/30/2018; supervisor: Prof. John Ross Grace.
2015-2016: Prof. Fabio Bentes Freire, University of the Basque Country, EHU, Spain; funding by CAPES (Senior Research Fellow); period: 11/05/2015 to 11/04/2016; supervisor: Prof. Martin Olazar Aurrekoetxea.
2012-2013: Prof. Luis Augusto Martins Ruotolo, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; funding by FAPESP (BEPE – Postdoctoral Research); period: 08/01/2012 to 07/31/2013; supervisor: Prof. Marc Arten Anderson.