In the morning of january 15th, a group of 26 students from the University of Delaware participated in intensive educational activities at UFJF’s Institute of Biological Sciences (ICB), in an event conducted by the Ecology Graduate Program (PGEcol) in partnership with UFJF | International.

The American students and faculty are in Brazil for a winter course, which includes UFJF in the itinerary. The goal is to provide students with new experiences in various fields – social, ecological, geographical, economic and cultural – to broaden their knowledge in a multidisciplinary way.

Dr. Ali A. Poorani, an Ecotourism Entrepreneurship professor at Delaware University, found in Brazil the diversity they were looking for, and his impression went beyond the usual focus on natural beauty, recognizing a beautiful country, not only with different landscapes, but different people.

Before its arrival in Juiz de Fora, the delegation had been in Rio de Janeiro, where, according to Danielli, a Dietetics student in Delaware, “is impressive for its contrasts.” Regardless of being a health sciences student, she was not indifferent to the social aspects of the country, “I was impressed by how only a few minutes drive separates a rich region and a slum.” At UFJF, she was excited with the lecture of Prof. Arthur Andriolo, who reported his studies with “Baleias” Project, Brazilian Antarctic Program.

Besides Prof. Andriolo’s lecture, there was a presentation on the history, structure and research lines of PGEcol, by Prof. Fabricio Alvim Carvalho; and a guided tour at UFJF Malacology Museum led by researcher Maria Alice Allemand.

“Situations like this are essential to promote our work. There was a rich exchange of experiences between biodiversity features of both countries. The members of the delegation were very impressed by the rarity and variety of our collection and kindly promised to send materials from their country for us”, explains Maria Alice.

After the activities, the delegation made ​​a campus tour and had lunch at the University’s Restaurant. Next week, the group of students goes forth on their trip to the Amazon rainforest, and finish their schedule with visits to Salvador and Morro de São Paulo, Bahia state.