Brazilian teachers travel to Limerick for postgraduate training

Twenty-eight teachers from public schools in Brazil travelled to Limerick this week to complete a postgraduate diploma in education leadership and management at Mary Immaculate College (MIC).  

The educators participated in a selection process earlier this year, run by CAPES federal funding agency in Brazil, and will have all of their costs covered by the Brazilian government during their nine-month stay in Ireland.  

Speaking at a farewell event hosted in the Irish Consulate in São Paulo on August 13 for the teachers from 20 different states in Brazil,  General Coordinator of Teacher Training Programmes with CAPES, Lorena Lins Damasceno, congratulated the group.

“We want to congratulate you all for the effort you put in so that you could be with us today. We know it wasn’t easy. Tomorrow, you will travel with the very clear and ambitious objective to complete this Education Leadership and Management programme in an institution with excellence in this area. You have a magnificent opportunity.”  

The CAPES coordinator noted that the MIC programme, as well as offering academic excellence, also provided scholarship holders an opportunity to compare different education systems in Brazil.  

“Returning teachers have told us they never knew Brazil as well as they did during their time in Ireland, because the groups represent all of Brazil.  They have a unique opportunity to compare distinct realities within our education system, exchanging and forming a national network.”

Consul General at the Irish Consulate in São Paulo, Robert Jackson, wished the group well and praised the Brazilian government for the “vision and leadership of CAPES investing in educators. These educators will have a unique opportunity to learn from each other and to share their experiences with colleagues in Ireland.” 

The CG congratulated the teachers for their role in shaping the future of society: “I still have very fond memories of my own teachers, they had a profound impact on me. Never underestimate the crucial role you play in shaping future generations,” he told the group. 

Director of SOS Education Consultancy, Sarah O’Sullivan, which is based in São Paulo, gave an overview of how continued investment in education had a transformative impact in Irish society, with MIC at the forefront of this transition. 

“Ireland was a poor country in the 1980s, we saw many young people forced to go overseas for opportunities. With consistent investment in education, and considerable curricular evolution, Ireland is proud to have one of the best education systems in the world.” 

Since 2009, CAPES has funded international mobility programmes for five thousand (5000) public school teachers. This is the third group of educators to travel to MIC to complete postgraduate education leadership training. The initial group consisted of 19 school directors, who studied at MIC in 2019.