The ELA4ATTRACT project is a Capacity Building in Higher Education initiative that seeks to address gender imbalances in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields across Latin America and the Caribbean. With a strong focus on fostering diversity and inclusion, the project aims to promote good practices in higher education institutions to attract, recruit, and retain female students in STEM disciplines.
This presentation will outline the project's multi-faceted approach, which includes collaboration with universities in the region to develop inclusive curricula, implement gender-sensitive recruitment strategies, and establish mentoring and support networks for female students. By leveraging the expertise of European and Latin American institutions, the project is creating a sustainable framework for increasing the participation of women in STEM education and careers.
Key components of the ELA4ATTRACT project include capacity-building workshops for faculty and staff, the creation of gender-aware STEM learning environments, and partnerships with industry to promote career opportunities for female graduates. Preliminary outcomes demonstrate significant progress in transforming institutional policies and fostering a more inclusive educational culture.
This session will provide insights into the project's achievements to date, challenges encountered, and strategies for ensuring long-term impact. It will offer valuable lessons for universities and policymakers aiming to enhance gender diversity in STEM education globally.
Keywords: Gender inclusion, STEM, Capacity Building, Higher Education, Latin America, Curriculum Development

A temática do acesso à educação superior é amplamente discutida no cenário político e científico global. Considerando-o um direito de todos, é fundamental estabelecer e manter uma estrutura universitária equânime, diversa e inclusiva para os estudantes. A internacionalização da educação superior é buscada por muitos países através de incentivos para estudantes estudarem em territórios estrangeiros, mas as políticas de recrutamento costumam ter foco exclusivamente econômico, tratando os estudantes sob uma lógica de custos. Para garantir o acesso e a permanência de estudantes internacionais nas universidades brasileiras, especialmente aqueles de origens socioeconômicas e educacionais diferentes, é necessário investir em estudos e esforços institucionais que identifiquem as barreiras e facilitadores nas experiências acadêmicas e profissionais dessa população, a fim de promover a integração acadêmica e futura inserção profissional. Para aprofundar esta discussão, é preciso responder às seguintes questões: (a) quem são esses estudantes? (b) quais são as expectativas e os interesses desses estudantes de virem cursar o ensino superior no Brasil? e (c) quais são as barreiras e os facilitadores para a integração desses estudantes na universidade? A promoção da integração e pertencimento à comunidade universitária é comum e esperada na maioria das universidades, em especial quando envolve a assimilação de novos sistemas educacionais e superação de barreiras culturais. Para responder a essas questões, será proposto um protocolo institucional para identificar barreiras e facilitadores à permanência de estudantes internacionais no ensino superior brasileiro. As etapas incluem revisão de instrumentos de medidas sobre permanência, entrevistas com especialistas, elaboração e validação do protocolo.

This proposal, derived from a doctoral thesis, highlights university extension, one of the functions of the Brazilian university's inseparable tripod, in the internationalization process of higher education through exploratory research. Our starting point was the need to investigate, considering evidence found in the literature, whether extension was neglected in internationalization agendas and strategies, especially those with traces of hegemony. By carrying out a qualitative descriptive-interpretative case study, we found empirical findings that demonstrate that when it comes to internationalizing the university, extension is on the margins of this process, being far from the levels of teaching and research. However, in practice, the internationalization of extension is identified beyond the reductionist vision that the University presents in institutional documents such as the Institutional Development Plan 2020-2024. We could observe these findings from the initiatives we track, which already take place at the Institution and can be considered international or intercultural due to the pluricultural realities they give rise to, but which are not classified or widely recognized as extension internationalization initiatives. Furthermore, it was possible to highlight dimensions of extension that also permeate extension of an international nature and are affected by the extension curricularization ongoing process. We achieved the opportunity to envision an expansion of the conceptual understanding of internationalization of extension itself. 

A Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB), sendo a maior instituição pública de ensino superior com característica multicampi no Estado da Bahia, possui uma capilaridade que abrange 29 departamentos, distribuídos e instalados em 24 campi, um na capital (Salvador) e outros 23 distribuídos por 19 territórios de identidade no interior. 
Como produto dos convênios de cooperação internacional, sinaliza-se o Edital PROFVISIT, que  seleciona propostas para o recebimento de professores pesquisadores visitantes vinculados às Instituições de Ensino Superior Internacionais, com o objetivo de desenvolver ações voltadas à internacionalização dos Programas de Pós-graduação Stricto Sensu (PPGSS). Cada proposta deverá prever prazo de permanência única e ininterrupta para o professor visitante, podendo ser: a) curta duração: mínimo de 05 (cinco) e o máximo de 07 (sete) dias; b) média duração - mínimo de 10 (dez) e máximo de 14 (quatorze) dias. A análise e o julgamento das propostas submetidas a esta chamada, são realizados em três etapas: a) Análise técnica; b) Análise de mérito; c) Homologação do resultado final. Entre os anos de 2017 e 2024, foram contemplados 63 professores estrangeiros, por meio de 04 Editais. Informa-se que, houve dois editais em 2017, sendo um executado no mesmo ano e o outro em 2018. Devido a pandemia da Covid-19, o edital de 2019 foi cancelado e retomou a continuidade em 2023 e 2024.
Observa-se que os professores visitantes, na sua maioria, são pertencentes à países hispano-falante (Chile, Colômbia, Argentina, México, Cuba, Venezuela e Peru) o que potencializa o diálogo Sul-Sul global e estreita laços com os países vizinhos ao Brasil. Ainda potencializando o diálogo Sul-Sul, inclui-se os professores oriundos do Senegal, República Tcheca, Moçambique, Guiana, Malásia e China que participaram do programa PROFVISIT e contribuíram para a formação dos estudantes da UNEB de diversas cidades baianas, em 14 departamentos, divididos na seguintes cidades: Alagoinhas, Conceição do Coité, Salvador, Irecê, Serrinha, Caetité, Camaçari, Santo Antônio de Jesus e Juazeiro. Neste cenário diverso, o PROFVISIT se configura como um programa que fortalece a consolidação da Pós-graduação na UNEB, por meio da internacionalização e da interiorização do ensino de qualidade.
Com essas ações, observa-se que a UNEB vem potencializando a cultura da internacionalização no ensino superior dos diversos territórios baianos, principalmente estudantes em situação de vulnerabilidade social e econômica, visando o aperfeiçoamento no âmbito da formação acadêmico-profissional inicial e continuada. Numa perspectiva transversal, a PPG e a SERINT estabelecem um diálogo direto com os atores (professores, estudantes, gestores e servidores técnicos), os Departamentos, as Pró-Reitorias e demais setores com efetiva participação na construção de uma universidade pautada na multicampia, na inclusão e na diversidade e com as Instituições Internacionais que mantem acordo de cooperação. Por isso, consideramos o princípio da governança como crucial para a gestão colegiada por meio da participação de cada setor na implementação e consolidação das ações de internacionalização. 

The Federal University of Grande Dourados is located in the city of Dourados, in Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Brazilian Midwest. This region is notable for the strong presence of indigenous populations, notably the Kaiowá, Guarani and Terena. Crossed by key issues of indigenous peoples - from language to land conflicts - UFGD has a large contingent of indigenous students, both in undergraduate and graduate programs. More than that, UFGD has the unique cultural, pedagogical and institutional experience of housing an Indigenous Intercultural College, with two undergraduate programs and a master's degree. This condition, although challenging in many ways, constitutes a great strength of the university and, as such, has also become, from a strategic perspective, a great asset of UFGD's current internationalization project. Based on this diagnosis, prepared by the Office of International Affairs, a series of actions were initiated to promote the university internationally, but also, and mainly, to strengthen the alliance and deepen community ties between the institution and the populations living in indigenous territories in the region, which range from established urban reserves to territories disputed by indigenous repossessions, and of course also include demarcated territories. At the undergraduate level, reciprocal international mobility among indigenous students is on the horizon, especially with Latin American universities, notably Peruvian and Bolivian. At the postgraduate level, UFGD, for example, was the university with the highest number of candidates approved in the Guatá Program, aimed at international mobility of indigenous doctoral students to France, under the auspices of the French Embassy and Consulate in Brazil. This action, for example, provided a level of institutional and diplomatic rapprochement with high-level French institutions and partners that is absolutely unprecedented in the history of UFGD, resulting in reciprocal visits, funding opportunities and linguistic initiatives. This situation derives not only from UFGD's uniqueness, but also from its Office's strategic reading of the current situation in relation to the privileged moment of Franco-Brazilian relations and its culturalist and climate bias. This reading - associated with the indigenous strength in UFGD's internationalization assets - also provided a very close rapprochement between the university and the initiatives of the Brazilian presidency of the G20. UFGD - through its Indigenous Intercultural Faculty - was responsible for translating the G20 manual into the Guarani language, and, based on the establishment of a formal partnership, for the translation and production - both textual and oral - of periodic bulletins, available on a fixed tab on the G20 portal. All these initiatives highlight the importance of associating an empowering, pro-human rights and inclusive conception of internationalization with the strategic diagnosis of an institution's unique strengths and assets. All this has enabled - not without effort and difficulties - the construction of an internationalization that leaves no one behind and that seeks to empower local communities, fostering genuinely horizontal partnerships.

One of the current concerns of internationalization practitioners and researchers is what has counted as internationalization since little attention has been given to unequal relations of power in international engagement (Buckner; Stein, 2020) and topics such as inclusion, equity and diversity have not been tackled as regularly as they should. To explore this concern, in this presentation, we draw upon the previous experiences of one of the researchers as an English language and a Brazilian sign language teacher to question the importance of linguistic and cultural exchange experiences between people who speak different languages (Brammerts, 1996). The research which is being carried out is in the context of Virtual Exchange (O'Dowd, 2018) in the form of teletandem between Brazilian and American deaf people. Methodologically, the research is qualitative in nature (Ely; Vinz; Downing; Anzul, 2005), with theoretical and methodological assumptions based on narrative inquiry (Clandinin; Connelly, 2000; 2011). As each country has its own sign language, Brazilian sign language and American sign language are the languages to be taught and learned by the deaf interactants. To situate our attendees, we explain briefly the main characteristics of the two sign languages in evidence, the concept of teletandem, the importance of interaction in learning and its implication in this process of mutually teaching and learning each other's language. We also share the expectations we hope to reach with the process of carrying out such research. Some questions we raise are: Do Higher Education structures for internationalization encompass the most diverse languages or are they restricted to the few majority ones? What about sign languages, are they privileged in this context? Do deaf people participate in internationalization programs (understanding that internationalization can occur with or without physical mobility)? The arguments to be presented by us are, therefore, in the scope of an inclusive and empowering process of internationalization in the hope of leaving no one behind, including deaf people, whose hands will be able to sign and to push the boundaries of internationalization worldwide.