The signing of the MoU between UPNVJ and the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) on April 3, 2023, was a follow-up to the exploratory discussions attended by the UPNVJ International Office, Mr. Prof. Dr. Bernardo Meyer, Chief of the President’s Office at UFSC, and the Indonesian Embassy in Brasilia on September 16, 2022. In addition, to initiate the collaboration, the UPNVJ International Office organized a webinar on October 13, 2022, with the theme “Education System, Study Opportunities, and Collaboration with Universities in Brazil.”

The MoU signing event was attended in person by Dr. Drs. Anter Venus, MA., Comm., Rector of UPNVJ; Dr. Taufiq Fedrik Pasiak, M.Kes., M.Pd.I, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine; Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem, PhD., Head of the Research and Community Service Institute (LP2M); Dr. Bambang Susanto, MA., Head of the UPNVJ International Office; and staff.

Meanwhile, the event was attended virtually by representatives from UFSC, including Mr. Prof. Dr. Irineu Manoel de Souza, Rector of UFSC; Mr. Prof. Dr. Bernardo Meyer, Chief of the President’s Office at UFSC; Ms. Dr. Fernanda Geremias Leal, Director of UFSC International Relations; representatives from the Indonesian Embassy in Brasilia, such as Mr. Edi Yusup, SE., M.Sc., Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil; Mr. Resha Maulana, Head of the Social and Cultural Information Section, and staff; as well as other members of the UPNVJ academic community, such as Mrs. Erly Krisnanik, S. Kom., MM., Vice Dean III of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The event begin with remarks from Dr. Drs. Anter Venus, MA., Comm., Rector of UPNVJ, who expressed his appreciation for the establishment of the collaboration between UPNVJ and UFSC through the MoU. He noted that the signing of the MoU is part of UPNVJ’s efforts to enhance its internationalization and achieve its vision of developing networks and partnerships both domestically and internationally. It is hoped that the cooperation between UPNVJ and UFSC will be successful through the implementation of several collaborative programs, such as faculty and student mobility, joint research and publication, guest lectures, and the development of other innovative cooperation programs.

This was followed by a speech from Mr. Prof. Dr. Irineu Manoel de Souza, Rector of UFSC, who welcomed the collaboration between UPNVJ and UFSC and expressed his hope that it would enhance academic and research cooperation. In his speech, he provided a brief profile of UFSC, which is located in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and has four campuses.

Lastly, a speech was delivered by Mr. Edi Yusup, SE., M.Sc., Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil, who noted that the cooperation between Indonesia and Brazil is not only in the political and economic fields but has also expanded into education, as evidenced by the signing of the MoU between UPNVJ and UFSC. He highlighted that Santa Catarina, where UFSC is located, is Brazil’s second-largest partner city in terms of cooperation with Indonesia. It is hoped that through this collaboration, Indonesia and Brazil can contribute to the international society.