German Ambassador visits the Mecila project in São Paulo
On May 30th, Dr. Georg Witschel, Ambassador of Germany to Brazil, visited the new working spaces of the Maria Sibylla Merian International Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America (Mecila) at the University of São Paulo (USP). On this occasion, the Ambassador met with the Provost for International Cooperation of the USP’s International Cooperation Office (Aucani), Raul Machado Neto; the Provost for Research of USP, Sylvio Roberto Accioly Canuto; the Provost for Graduate Studies of USP, Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Júnior; the Head of the Liaison Office of the Freie Universität Berlin in São Paulo, Nora Jacobs; and Paul Leonhard, representing the Consulate General of Germany in São Paulo.
In a review of the international agreements and the various research and academic exchange partnerships between the University of São Paulo and research institutions around the world, Neto emphasized the importance of the university’s long-standing relationship with the Freie Universität Berlin, which will be further developed with the participation of both institutions in the Mecila project. In Neto’s opinion, “although the collaboration between the two institutions is strong, there are still many opportunities to be explored. One of [our] main interests now is to bring foreign teachers for a period of time to USP, helping to create an international environment within the University.”
Dr. Nicolas Wasser, Mecila Scientific Coordinator, and three Mecila Principal Investigators were also present at the meeting: Professor Angela Alonso, president of CEBRAP and Professor of the Department of Sociology at USP; Professor Marcos Nobre, professor of philosophy at Unicamp; and Professor Samuel Barbosa of the Faculty of Law of USP.
Dr. Witschel then visited the Mecila workspaces at the USP’s International Dissemination Center (CDI), where he had the opportunity to speak briefly with the Postdoctoral Fellows of the project: Dr. Luciane Scarato; Dr. Maya Manzi; and Dr. Fernando Baldraia.
Image Credit: Comunicação – USP International Cooperation Office
Melanie Metzen