International Summer School Brazil 14 - 27 September 14

14 - 27 September 2014
Universidade Federal de Viçosa - Campus Florestal, Brazil


Participants of the Summer School 2014

The DAAD International Summer School with the working theme "Strategies for conservation of natural habitats and sustainable use of biodiversity in the face of climate and land use change" was organized by the Section for Tropical and Sub-tropical Agriculture and Forestry (SETSAF) and hosted by the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) - Campus Florestal, Brazil from the 14th to the 27th of September, 2014. Twenty nine participants from Germany, Brazil and three other South American country representatives (Peru, Chile & Colombia) took part in this summer school.

The Georg-August University of Göttingen was represented by Prof. Elke Pawelzik (Dean of Research - Faculty of Agriculture (Crop Science - Plant nutrition, food quality and post-harvest technology), Dr. Jolanta Slowik and Dr. Margaretha Pangau (Department of Conservation Biology), Dr. Stefan Höhnwald (Department of Geography), Prof. Martin Thren (Applied Science and Arts University Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, HAWK) and Dr. Kamini Barua from the University of Leuphana (EU Innovations Inkubator), Lüneburg. The UFV - Florestal was represented by six Professors from the department of Biology and Faculty of Agriculture and Soil Science, and led by Prof. Leonardo E. Lopes. Fifteen Brazilian students represented UFV - Florestal & Viçosa and UFMG - Belo Horizonte. During the plenary sessions, lectures on various topics ranging from biodiversity and food security to climate change, sustainable agriculture and management of natural resources were delivered. One of the main objectives of this program was to promote German higher education in the international education market, with specific focus on Latin America. Information on international cooperation and research programs/projects of the Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Geoscience and Geography, CBL-SETSAF, department of Conservation Biology from the University of Göttingen, HAWK Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen and the University of Leuphana, Lüneburg were disseminated to the prospective participants seeking opportunities for higher education in Germany. Field trips were organised to the Intohim Contemporary Art Museum and Botanical Gardens and Serra do Cipó National Park, where the participants not only had the opportunity to interact with the park management authorities but also have a good overview on the park management strategies, problems associated with anthropogenic impacts and ecotourism. The students actively participated in the evaluation test which was based on the main themes of discussion during the plenary sessions.

Prospective research proposals are being planned for initiating research collaboration between the UFV - Florestal and the Institute of Geography (Department of Cartography, GIS & Remote Sensing), University of Göttingen, as well as the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT) in Cuiaba (Mato Grosso), Neotropical Research Institute (INPA) in Manaus (Amazonas) and the University of Göttingen. Masters and PhD exchange programs are being negotiated between the UFV-Florestal and the HAWK. It is worth mentioning here that the UFV (Viçosa & Florestal) already has successful research collaboration with the University of Leuphana, Lünebug through the EU funded project on sustainable biofuels production for the aviation industry (http://www.leuphana.de/en/partners/innovation-incubator-lueneburg/sustainable-energy/platform-for-sustainable-aviation-fuels/team.html). This International Summer School Program has consequently aimed to initiate and strengthen the cooperation between the UFV (Minas Gerais) and other Brazilian state Universities and the German University of Göttingen.