When a post on a scholarship rolled through the timeline of Letícia Vognach’s social networks, she did not pay much attention. However, the desire to go on an exchange to an English-speaking country marked the information provided by the International Relations Office (DRI) in the memory of the student, who, a few days before the deadline for the subscription, decided to do everything in her power to apply . Due to the rush, Letícia did not have high expectations, so she was surprised to be contemplated with a grant from the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (Elap), offered by the government of Canada, and now she will hold a semester of studies at Concordia University of Edmonton.

 

"Since I started my undergraduate program, I have had the idea of ​​going on an exchange to an English-speaking country to practice and improve my English. With just a week for the closing of subscriptions, I was reminded of the release that DRI had made regarding the scholarship in Canada, to which I had not previously paid much attention. The issue of the financial aid had a great influence on me to sign up for it. Once decided, it was such a rush to get the documents and everything. By the way, I thank the DRI staff for being always attentive and patient with me and also the coordinator of the Chemical Engineering Program, Professor Gustavo Reisdörfer, for the support he gave me", she explains.

 

As a student of Project i, Letícia believes that this will facilitate the immersion in an environment with a totally different language. In addition, she relies on the support of the family (in the photo with the student). "My parents have always supported me in this decision, which certainly motivated me a lot. In addition to the assistance provided, I believe that, as any exchange, it will be a unique experience and will bring ample academic baggage to be shared. I hope to be the first of many here from Univates that participates in the opportunity that Elap offers", she concludes.

For DRI Director Viviane Bischoff, the opportunity of the Canadian government meets not only institutional interests of Univates, but also comes as a way to facilitate the international experience of students by offering financial support, one of the major obstacles to internationalization nowadays.

 

“Even though we work with partner institutions that, in part, offer financial support, the vast majority of foreign institutions do not have this benefit. Of course the financial support is not everything: if Leticia were not prepared - and here I especially emphasize fluent English – the Elap scholarship would be of no use”, says Viviane Bischoff. "I also emphasize the fact that the student is attentive to the opportunities we have given to the academic community periodically: we work not only with institutional offers, that is, through agreements with foreign institutions, but also we prospect weekly opportunities offered by several national and international organizations. Our role is to give the student a world of opportunities and to assist him in the whole process. But for this, this student must be prepared", concludes Viviane.

 

Learn more - Elap - Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program

It is a Canadian government program that offers short term scholarships (4 to 6 months) for undergraduate, masters and doctoral students from universities in the Americas that are interested in studying or conducting research in Canada.

 

Students who are regularly enrolled in a higher education institution in Brazil who have a cooperation agreement with a Canadian higher education institution are eligible. In the case of Univates, there is an agreement with Concordia University of Edmonton. At the undergraduate level, there must be a prior cooperation agreement between the Brazilian institution and the Canadian institution. For masters or doctorates, if there is no formal exchange between institutions, applications involving a new or existing collaboration between professors of the Canadian and Brazilian institutions may be considered.