Back to the face-to-face format, after the covid-19 pandemic, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) holds, in Cidade Universitária, from the 9th to the 11th of this month, the event Knowing UFRJ 2023. will be from 9am to 5pm daily. The last in-person edition of the event took place in 2019. More than 5,000 students from 153 public and private high schools and pre-university courses scheduled visits to the university, where they will be able to learn about the more than 170 undergraduate courses offered and the multiple environments of knowledge. On all days of the event, there will be conversation tables with representatives of UFRJ and municipal secretaries of Rio de Janeiro, with the theme UFRJ: from reception to inclusion. New world UFRJ’s Dean of Extension, Ivana Bentes, recalled, in an interview with Agência Brasil, that during the pandemic the institution held the event virtually. “But it is not the same. There are more than 5,000 students who come on our buses to the Cidade Universitária campus, walk around, go to the course stands, listen to lectures, get to know the UFRJ laboratories. Indeed, UFRJ materializes for a huge number of high school students from public and private schools who, many times, have never set foot in a university. It is the first moment of direct contact with a public university and this visit is a magical thing, because it puts the university on the horizon of these young people”, said Ivana. During the activities, students get to know the job market for the various courses offered by UFRJ. “It opens up that world of possibilities for students, who don’t know a certain field of knowledge production, which will be presented at the stands by university students. This is cool because the UFRJ students themselves are presenting the courses in the booths, in a young language, talking to other young people”. The lectures, in general, are given by the coordinators of the courses. There is an opening for questions at the end of the presentations. As highlighted by the Dean of Extension, the information provided will allow students to define which course they want to take. “Especially in a public and free university, like UFRJ”. Students will also have contact with courses that are exclusive to UFRJ or recent in the job market. This is the case of graduations in mathematical engineering, graphic expression and dance theory. Continuity Schools that were unable to make their prior appointment will continue to be served throughout the year, at UFRJ Continuado, said Ivana. According to the dean, many of the participants in past editions of Knowing UFRJ are currently undergraduate students. The activities will be spread across Cidade Universitária, at the Mathematical and Natural Sciences Center (CCMN), Arts and Literature Center (CLA), Health Sciences Center (CCS) and Technology Center (CT). In addition to the courses’ booths, the program includes workshops, guided visits to laboratories and cultural presentations, in addition to technological, research, entrepreneurship, extension and postgraduate environments. “Going to university is not just a degree. It’s a world that opens up to you. You change your life when you go to university,” she said. Idle vacancies Ivana Bentes said that, with the pandemic, all public universities had a big problem, which was the increase in idle vacancies. Today, there are more than 19,000 idle vacancies throughout Brazil. “This is worrisome, because young people have lowered their expectations about the university”. According to Ivana, an event like this puts the horizon of the university back together with the student, the dream of having experience abroad, social ascension, through education, knowledge, opportunities. “This issue seems very important to me to combat this type of negative horizon that occurred during the pandemic, not only for students, but also for parents,” said Ivana.
Agência Brasil
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