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A student on the Physics Degree course at the Federal Institute of Acre (), Cruzeiro do Sul campus, started the academic semester on European soil. Shara Maulaz Gomes da Silva started classes at the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), in Portugal, on February 14, 2025, where she will remain for 20 weeks.
Selected by Ifac’s international mobility program, coordinated by the Systemic Directorate of International Relations (DSRI), the academic already reports remarkable experiences in the first month. “These integration days have been incredible! An experience outside of my comfort zone, but one that I’m really enjoying. The classes are dynamic and I chose subjects from different areas, which gave me a very interesting overview”, he highlighted.
Shara also highlighted the coexistence with students of different nationalities. “I made a lot of friends here, incredible people. It’s an environment with a lot of cultural diversity, which helps a lot in practicing different languages”, he said.
For Ifac’s Internationalization coordinator, Najara Vidal Pantoja, the exchange goes beyond academic training. “This experience contributes to the internationalization of Ifac and can open doors for future partnerships in research, innovation and knowledge exchange between institutions”, he explained.
In 2025, Ifac selected two students from the Cruzeiro do Sul campus for the program. In addition to Shara, student Eduardo Farias dos Santos, from the Mathematics course, was also approved, but faced difficulties in issuing a visa and must embark next semester.
The program offers financial assistance of R$30,000 to cover expenses during the 20 weeks of exchange, a period equivalent to one academic semester at IPB.
