1. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Workshop 6 01/12 Latin America and North America

2. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Institution & Country co-operation with Portuguese speaking regions Main Points to address: Portuguese speaking regions Main obstacles: –Official language to be adopted by a EMMC? –Academic standards Special grants for undergraduate students from PALOP countries Other existing programmes/initiatives: How can Erasmus Mundus Programme contribute

3. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Portuguese speaking regions Emigrant communities in North America  Limited interest in coming to study in Europe. Latin America  large potential BUT only Brazil. geographical coverage constraints do not allow for relevant recruitment. Africa  large potential (Angola, Mozambique; Guiné Bissau São Tomé and Cabo Verde). East Timor  smaller community.

4. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Official language to be adopted by a EMMC? English = Scientific Lingua Franca  impossible to implement a high standard EMMCs using a mixture of Portuguese & another European Language.  Proficiency in English is a critical requirement  automatically a handicap for a significant nº of potential candidates.

5. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Academic standards Latin America  i.e. Brazil Very good academic standards but geographical coverage constraints do not allow for relevant recruitment. Africa  still low academic standards. Timor  still low academic standards.  Very difficult for such candidates to be familiar with Erasmus Mundus programme and to be accepted.

6. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Small nº of grants for undergraduate students from PALOP countries From: Science & education Ministries Universities Objective: to contribute to raise academic standards but necessarily a very slow process

7. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Other existing programmes/initiatives for postgraduate courses: Alβan programme – opened to Latin American Countries Via ministry (Grices) – Grants for postgraduate studies Gulbenkian foundation – Grants for postgraduate studies Some Universities - Small nº of grants for postgraduate studies  Need to liaise with these programmes

8. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros How can Erasmus Mundus Programme contribute Action 3 can really be an asset for Latin American Countries - However, limited participation of European students in programmes is the key limitation. Liaise with UNESCO Centres and Sponsor EMMC Consortia to carry out intensive Summer courses - Either in Europe or in specific regions to help raising academic standards of potential candidates. Alumni Association can also help: - attract interest from potential candidates - encourage EMMC graduates to coach potential candidates at local level

9. Consortium: EMMS Speaker: Ana Barros Conclusion For Latin America & North America Action 3 seems to be a good tool to explore. Liaison with Alβan programme and UNESCO Centres may help. Plenty to do as regards the remaining Portuguese speaking countries  all efforts will have to be combined!