Denver, CO --
Over January and February of 2015, Denver-based nonprofit US-Brazil Connect will host 107 of Brazil’s top science, technology, engineering and math high school students to locations around the US. The visit is a reward for the students’ stellar participation in the nonprofit’s Conexão Mundo Program (World Connect Program), but also serves to expose Brazil’s top students to US industry and education to build economic opportunity through cultural connection.
Now heading into its fourth year, the Conexão Mundo Program continues to build on a mission of creating transformative learning experiences by connecting communities in the US and Brazil. The program is a collaboration of US-Brazil Connect—which hires and trains English language coaches—and the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI)—which runs the largest set of technical high schools anywhere in the Americas. CNI’s SESI and SENAI system are currently training over 7 million students to fill industry positions in Brazil.
Conexão Mundo leverages the resources of each partner to improve the global leadership skills of young people in the US and the English-language skills high school students in Brazil. Each summer, teams of US fellows travel to the Brazil for four weeks to coach English through a high-engagement immersion program. On either side of that time, fellows engage with students over Facebook and Google Hangout to build connections and cement skills.
At the program’s end, Brazilian coordinators at each of the 32 Conexão Mundo sites select the top 5 percent of students based on their participation, character and intellectual enthusiasm. Those student are afforded the opportunity to travel and stay in the US for two weeks, all expenses paid.
Because each Brazilian student will soon enter math and science fields, trip organizers at US-Brazil Connect hope to emphasize industrial innovations unique to the US. While details are still being finalized, Tracy Simpson, US-Brazil Connect’s Exchange Visit Coordinator, is arranging tours to breweries, mining operations, engineering companies, software developers, green-tech innovators and aerospace manufacturers.
To continue a focus on the student’s English language skills, each will live with US host families and spend three days shadowing US students at local high schools.
US-Brazil Connect will be hosting double the students it did in the winter of 2014. Last year, 47 students chosen from a student pool of more than 1,000 traveled to the US. The program’s rapid growth means a 107 student will be coming to the US this year, chosen from a student pool of over 2,000 students from almost every Brazilian state.
While most the students will visit the Denver Metro Area, two of US-Brazil Connect’s community college partners will also host students. Former fellows and team leaders from Flathead Valley Community College and Jackson College will host students to Kalispell, Mont., and Jackson, Mich.
