Professors and technical-administrative staff at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) are playing a leading role in an innovative project that aims to modernize higher education in Latin America through international cooperation.

The project, entitled EMBRACE: “Education Modernization Brazil, Colombia, Europe – the new era of digital higher education cooperation”, was approved under the ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE call, Development of Competences in the Field of Higher Education, Axis 2: Partnerships for Transformation in Higher Education. This CBHE action supports international cooperation based on multilateral partnerships between higher education organizations to improve the quality and modernization of education in countries not associated with the Erasmus+ programme. The EMBRACE project began in April 2023 and will run until March 2026 with funding from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACAE).

Led by the Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) in Finland, which has a long tradition of excellence in education, EMBRACE also involves institutions from Brazil, Colombia and Portugal. The Brazilian participation is made up of UFABC and the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo (IFES) and São Paulo (IFSP). Colombia’s participation is made up of the Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina (Areandina) and the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP); and Portugal’s through the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB).

With the aim of improving the higher education landscape in the region, the EMBRACE project promotes the training of partner institutions to adapt to the challenges of the digital age. The project focuses on a number of areas, including quality management, teacher and manager training for innovation in education, the development of digital and pedagogical skills, fostering collaboration between academia, society and industry in building more inclusive and student-centered learning ecosystems, and the sustainability of educational actions. It also includes a series of innovative initiatives, such as the creation of new curricula, the development of teaching methods and interactive learning resources and cutting-edge research in digital education, as well as the implementation of student-centered teaching-learning strategies, focusing on issues of accessibility and inclusion, with a view to ensuring that higher education is available regardless of their circumstances.

The UFABC research team, led by Professor Carolina Corrêa de Carvalho (CECS), is made up of professors from the 3 academic centers, technical-administrative staff and guest researchers, namely: Allan Xavier (CCNH), Carla Oliveira (ProGrad), Carla Rodriguez (CMCC), Denise Consonni (Guest, UFABC Collaborating Professor), Geovane Sousa (Guest), Graciella Watanabe (CCNH), João Sato (CMCC), Júlio Facó (CECS) and Michelle Sato (CECS). This diversity in the team highlights the interdisciplinarity and plural participation specific to a project that requires the development of skills, competencies and specialized knowledge to support and shape the future of education in the region.

The EMBRACE project began with the opening face-to-face event in Vitória-ES, which took place between 28 August and 1 September 2023, hosted and organized by the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo (IFES). The event marked the start of the project’s practical activities and provided an opportunity for participants to interact and exchange ideas, fostering a spirit of collaboration and cooperation between the institutions involved, as well as starting the series of practical workshops for teachers in order to lay the foundations for the successful implementation of the project’s training process.

The EMBRACE project is aligned with the goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to guarantee quality, inclusive and equitable education for all, through actions that promote equal access to education and improve the quality of higher education.

As the EMBRACE project gathers pace, the target audience: students, teachers, educational managers, members of the organized civil community, representative bodies, and the industrial sector, are eagerly awaiting the positive results that EMBRACE seeks to deliver. By improving teachers’ digital and pedagogical skills, fostering collaboration between academia, society and industry, and creating a solid learning ecosystem, the project aims to take higher education to new heights in the partner institutions, ultimately benefiting the region and its future generations of students.

The next stage of the project is scheduled for November 3-10, 2023 and will be hosted by Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) in Finland. This phase will kick off a series of workshops to train managers in the development of educational competencies, a key point of the project with the aim of sustaining current and future digital transformations by motivating and supporting the actors involved in the process.

For more information on the EMBRACE project and its initiatives, you can access the article published in PesquisaABC Magazine no. 35, September/2023, pages 50 to 55, available on the PesquisaABC Magazine page on the UFABC Dean of Research (PROPES) website, and the news item published on the HAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI) website in September/2023 (in English) on the EMBRACE Project Sets Sail – Modernizing Higher Education in Latin America through the new era of digital higher education cooperation page.

Text: Professors Carolina Carvalho (UFABC) / Allan Xavier (UFABC), Carla Rodriguez (UFABC), Denise Consonni (professora Colaboradora da UFABC), Geovane Sousa (Convidado), Graciella Watanabe (UFABC), João Sato (UFABC), Júlio Facó (UFABC) e Michelle Sato (UFABC.