Submitted by Comunicação DRI on Tue, 06/09/2026 - 20:35
Flávio Reis
Article produced by Lucas Menezes and published on UFOP's official website.
The Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), through its International Relations Office (DRI), welcomed representatives from the National University of Costa Rica (UNA) last week to discuss university extension policies, internationalization, and academic cooperation between the two institutions. The program included meetings with the University Administration, the dean of Extension and Culture Office (Proex), extension coordinators, and representatives from the Ministry of Education.
The visit was motivated by UNA’s interest in understanding how extension and cultural activities are structured in UFOP, particularly following the changes introduced by Brazil’s National Extension Policy and the mandatory integration of extension activities into undergraduate curricula. The UNA delegation included Yolanda Perez Carrillo, Vice-Rector for Extension; Jorge Pablo Barth Arroyo, Director of the Office of International Affairs and Cooperation (AICE); and Leidy Jiménez Dalorzo, Extension Consultant and Academic Advisor at the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Upon arrival, the delegation participated in an institutional meeting with UFOP Vice-Rector Roberta Froes and DRI Director Anderson Gamarano. During the meeting, the international relations offices of both institutions presented their experiences. UFOP introduced initiatives such as the Portuguese as a Foreign Language Program, the Welcome Project, and international cooperation programs funded by Capes.
According to Jorge Barth, the visit to UFOP resulted in important developments. “We negotiated several cooperation strategies between the universities, especially related to student mobility for both short- and long-term periods. We also discussed student participation in extension projects, including the possibility of developing extension activities in Costa Rica,” he explained.
In another meeting, UFOP was represented by Raquel Leite Braz, the Associate Dean of Extension and Culture; Francisca Diana Ferreira Viana, the Extension Coordinator; and Professor Debora Cristina Lopez, coordinator of an extension project. They emphasized that the integration of extension activities into academic curricula has significantly contributed to student education, broadening academic perspectives and strengthening understanding of the university social role, although important challenges still remain before its full implementation.
FREIREAN EXTENSION - During the visit, the Brazilian model of university extension was presented, grounded in the historical principles of university extension in Brazil, such as the inseparability of teaching, research, and extension, as established in Article 207 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Another key feature highlighted was the Freirean perspective of extension as a dialogical practice. Inspired by the ideas of Paulo Freire, extension is understood as a process of communication with communities based on listening, knowledge exchange, and the recognition of locally produced knowledge, fostering a plurality of perspectives in education.
According to the DRI Director, the proposal is for UNA faculty members to connect UFOP extension-oriented professors and technical-administrative staff (TAEs) with colleagues working in similar areas in Costa Rica. “UNA colleagues sought, through this visit, to better understand how the curricular insertion of extension has taken place in UFOP in order to replicate aspects of this process in Costa Rica, drawing on the positive experiences observed here and adapting them to their local reality,” Anderson reported.
