17.08.2009
Brazilian environmental science degree
The “municipal and industrial environmental protection” degree at the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) in southern Brazil has just been awarded the badge of excellence in an evaluation undertaken by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The degree course trains Brazilian environmental specialists to German professional standards and, according to DAAD, is “a flagship project with a blueprint character for other projects in the future.” The University of Stuttgart played a major role in the project’s success. Researchers based at the University’s “Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management” set up the Master´s degree in 2007 in collaboration with the UFPR and the “Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial” (SENAI/PR), which is part of the Paraná Association of Industry and is based in Curitiba, the capital city of the federal state.
According to the University of Stuttgart, Brazilian students are offered “a challenging and high quality degree course”. The degree is a “showcase” for the cooperative training and continuing professional development of engineers. The future environmental experts will acquire the Brazilian degree in two years and the German degree in three years. The course structure has been designed in such a way that compulsory subjects are mainly taught by Brazilian lecturers. In-depth, advanced technical knowledge about the treatment of water and waste water to avoid pollution, the management of municipal solid waste or industrial residual materials, and air pollution control are taught in conjunction with lecturers from Stuttgart.
Students usually have acquired previous practical experience in the environmental sector and those with a good command of German are able to undertake advanced study level placements in Germany. They are also eligible for six month scholarships worth 900 euros a month. In the future the Master´s degree is about to be extended to include an accompanying research and doctoral programme at the UFPR and the University of Stuttgart. Specialists from Stuttgart have many years of experience in environmental technology and with environmental projects all around the world.
