Strategic Plans for Internationalization custom made by School/Campus at PUCPR

Internationalizing higher education is no longer an option, but rather a necessity for every university committed to the quality of teaching, research, and extended learning. The great modern challenges of society, while having a local impact, are of global scale - energy, sustainability, cities, health, human rights, among others - and therefore, their solutions depend on the development of leaders with global vision and presence.

PUCPR decided to take on this task when it chose internationalization as an institutional priority. In this scenario, the Rectory, through the Pro-Rectory for Research, Graduate Programs and Innovation and the Office for Internationalization, has created a proposal for the internationalization of the University for the period from 2016 to 2022 - revised in 2018.

The revised plan included the capillarization of the internationalization as one of its main guidelines. The capillarization metaphor is used to illustrate the goal of reaching all levels of the institution, to contribute to achieving excellence in its academic and administrative activities, from the management to faculty members, staff, students, and the whole community.

One of the most important strategies for this guideline is to internationalize, strategically and in a customized way, each PUCPR School and Campus. The planned activities include:

- To encourage, support and guide the development of internationalization plans by each of the Schools and Campuses, respecting and boosting the characteristics of each area of knowledge;

- To implement a regular visiting schedule from the Office for Internationalization team to the Deans, Campuses Boards, and Coordinators of Undergraduate programs to deal with current guidelines regarding the internationalization.

This session will present how the strategy of the customized plans was implemented at PUCPR, and the results already achieved. Participants will be able to gain insights on the achievements and the challenges of this process, and on how different ideas and projects can come to life.