PEC-G: 60 years of international cooperation and internationalization at home

This roundtable invites discussions on the Brazilian Program for Exchange Students (PEC-G), coordinated by the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025. Over the past six decades, it has welcomed more than 12.000 students across all Brazilian states and over 100 higher education institutions. The program offers tuition-free spots in Portuguese as a Foreign Language and full undergraduate courses. Having partnerships in 74 countries, primarily in the Global South, the PEC-G is one of Brazil's most valuable tools for international cooperation and internationalization at home. Recent updates in 2024, including Decree nº 11.923/2024 and Ordinance nº 7/2024, have introduced substantial updates, reflected in a notable increase in pre-registrations (more than ten thousand), applications (more than 1700, the highest number since 2009), and accepted students. This roundtable will bring together representatives from all key stakeholders, including Brazilian Ministries of Education (MEC) and Foreign Affairs (MRE) PEC-G coordinators; a PEC-G coordinator from a higher education institution; a Consular representative from one of the partner countries as well as former and current PEC-G students. Together, they will address challenges such as cultural adaptation, the expansion of Portuguese Language course offerings, and innovations in the selection process and program promotion in partner countries, as well as the opportunities of development brought by PEC-G. The roundtable will also explore future directions for PEC-G, focusing on enhancing its impact and broadening its reach.