International Mobility of Brazilian Students to Portugal: The Role of the Brazilian Government and University Strategies in Portugal

Abstract

Student mobility associated with processes of internationalisation in higher education has been consistently on the rise since the 1970s. However, so far, most research has focused on the periphery-core moves mostly targeting Anglophone countries. More recently, within the European Union, increasing attention is being paid to processes of intra-European student mobility (Erasmus Programmes and similar). Little is known about other systems of international student mobility, particularly involving the Lusophone world. Brazilian students have long sought Portugal for the pursuit of higher education. However, only in recent years did this flow experience an intense growth (of 109.1 % between 2008 and 2012). It is particularly striking that this growth is taking place within an overall framework of declining migration from Brazil to Portugal following the economic crisis and declining labour demand. Both the policies adopted by the Brazilian government to stimulate the international mobility of its students and strategies developed in Portuguese universities to attract Brazilian students have been fundamental in the constitution of this flow. This paper draws on data from multiple sources to examine the institutional framework that facilitates mobility, on the one hand, and the experiences of the students themselves, on the other (viz. in terms of academic reception, accommodation and life experience): (i) secondary statistical data, (ii) policy documents, (iii) interviews with representatives of Portuguese Universities (in Lisboa, Coimbra and Porto) and (iv) interviews with students.

Data presented here is linked to the research project ‘Ligações Migratórias entre a Região de Governador Valadares (MG) e Portugal – movimentos de saída e processo de retorno: uma comparação com as migrações para os Estados Unidos’, funded by CAPES/FCT.

14.1 Introduction: Internationalisation of Higher Education and the Role of Student Mobility

The internationalisation of higher education is undoubtedly an important and growing phenomenon (Beine et al. 2012; Altbach and Knight 2007; Rosenzweig 2006). This process includes several dimensions: academic mobility of professors and research staff, development of joint research projects or academic programmes, international student mobility, training in foreign languages, long-distance learning programmes, etc. (see, e.g. Altbach and Knight 2007 or Findlay 2011, p. 165). One fundamental and crucial actor in this process is ‘the student’, who constitutes the most numerous embodiment of the process of internationalisation. For some, students’ engagement in international mobility is primarily related to individual attributes such as social class status, socio-economic background, gender, language competencies or personality traits (for a revision, see Findlay et al. 2012, p. 119). However, as Findlay (2011, p. 164) rightly argues, to understand student mobility, one must look beyond individual factors and take into account the contexts within which those students decide to study abroad. The abilities of institutions to attract foreign students or to foster their mobility are crucial drivers of internationalisation.

This paper gives special attention to the processes that enable the recruitment of international students and also highlights the challenges that they face, upon arrival, in the hosting country. Importantly, we examine how students’ expectations, generated by programmes put in place to stimulate international higher education, are met in the process of international mobility and study abroad. One example mentioned in the literature is the difficulties involved in the recognition of foreign diplomas, despite the widespread promotion of international higher education. Another example is the tension between returning to the country of origin (often a prerequisite of origin country funding schemes) and remaining in the reception country, often eager to retain talent (Findlay 2011, p. 164).

The process of recruiting international students reflects important South-North divides. The majority of recruiting institutions are in the developed ‘Global North’, particularly in rich Anglophone countries (the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK), while most international students originate in the less developed ‘Global South’ (Altbach and Knight 2007 p. 294). In other words, mobility tends to take place from low- to mid- to high-income countries. Findlay et al. (2012, p. 125) highlight how students allude to a global hierarchy of universities and how they rationalise their choice in terms of being at a ‘world-class’ university. At the same time, foreign students are often asked to pay higher fees than native students. Interestingly, a number of funding schemes are put in place to fund such mobility and training abroad, sometimes originating in Northern countries themselves (e.g. the British Chevening or American Fulbright scholarships).

In practice, international student mobility largely involves students from the ‘Global South’ moving to higher education institutions in the ‘Global North’, often paying higher fees and contributing to fund ‘Northern’ higher education systems, enriching the academic environment of their host institutions and fostering cross-cultural understanding (Findlay 2011, p. 164, Altbach and Knight 2007) while also being trained in ‘Northern’ epistemologies and knowledge-building paradigms. This takes place largely on the premise that the students will return to their countries of origin, to contribute to the ‘knowledge society’ and economic growth with the training acquired abroad. However, this process needs to be further examined on three grounds, which take into account the tensions that may exist between structural forces in sending as well as host countries, and individual motivations, decisions and experiences: (1) How are host universities attracting foreign students? Through which schemes? Is what they ‘advertise’ actually being delivered, in the students’ views? (2) How are origin countries’ governments and institutions dealing with student mobility? Are students’ expectations and needs taken into account? And if so, are they being met? (3) What is happening in processes of mobility to peripheral European countries, outside the dominant more ‘elitist’ Anglophone world? Are processes similar to those observed in other contexts?

This chapter looks at the case of Brazilian students going to Portugal to study to examine these questions. In the next sections, we look at (i) the context of the evolution of migration flows and student mobility between Brazil and Portugal, (ii) the policy framework put in place by Portuguese universities to attract Brazilian students and by Brazilian institutions to promote higher education mobility and (iii) students’ views on the processes of mobility experienced, particularly seeking to unpack the tensions and conflicts between expectations and lived experiences generated by the institutional framework; (iv) we conclude by teasing out the implications of the analysis to a more in-depth understanding of international student mobility.

Data for this analysis is drawn from secondary data available from the Ministry of Education and Science in Portugal (through the Direção Geral de Estatísticas da Educação e Ciência – DGEEC), regarding the number of Brazilian students enrolled in higher education institutions in Portugal, and from the Brazilian higher education agencies, CAPES (Coordination of Higher Education for Personnel Improvement) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), regarding funding granted to Brazilian students to study abroad. In addition, we look at data obtained from interviews conducted in 2014 and 2015 with nine faculty directors of universities in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra and with two chancellors of universities in Lisbon, 53 interviews with Brazilian higher education students in Portugal (23 in Lisbon, 10 in Coimbra, 10 in Porto and 10 returned to Brazil), including both short-term exchanges and full degrees, from bachelor to PhD. These interviews are complemented by data obtained from 90 interviews and a survey with 306 Brazilians living in Lisbon Metropolitan Area between 2010 and 2012, which included Brazilian students living in Lisbon at the time, and interviews with 11 students returned to Brazil (interviewed in Campinas and Rio de Janeiro).¹

14.2 Understanding the Broad Context of Migration Flows Between Brazil and Portugal

Brazilian migration to Portugal has been a long-standing reality rooted in the colonial links that connected the two countries in the past.² Crucially, the two countries share the same language, which is an important facilitator of migration, not least in the education field. However, before the 1980s, immigration from Brazil was not particularly significant and was constituted mainly of political expats, some women and executives (interview with José in 2010, arrived in Portugal in 1974) and also some students who sought out Portuguese higher education institutions, namely, within the framework of bilateral agreements between the two countries (interview with Artur in 2011, went to Portugal to study medicine in 1967). During the 1980s the flow grew, but was less intense in comparison with the growth experienced during the 2000s, and was constituted mainly of skilled and highly skilled professionals (dentists, marketing and IT experts, engineers, etc.) who arrived in Portugal to work in their respective professions. In addition we find that many migrants arriving at that time were also descendants of previous Portuguese emigrants in Brazil (Malheiros 2007b). These migrants were from diverse regions in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Pernambuco.

At the end of the 1990s, a different kind of flow emerged, known as the ‘second wave of Brazilian immigration’ (Casa do Brasil/Acime 2004), which was much more intense than the previous wave. This ‘second wave’ included mainly low skilled who took jobs in the hotel and catering sector, construction and domestic work. These immigrants were predominantly from the southwest of Brazil and nearby regions: mostly Minas Gerais and Paraná but also Espírito Santo, São Paulo and Goiás (Casa do Brasil/Acime 2004, p. 8).³ Contrary to the case with pioneers from the ‘first wave’, the ‘second wave’ of Brazilian immigration included a large proportion of undocumented migrants (Casa do Brasil/Acime 2004; Fonseca et al. 2005).

Differently to migration flows, between other countries, dominated by male pioneers, both waves from Brazil to Portugal have always included a high percentage of independent women who do not migrate within family reunification schemes (Padilla 2007).

Since 2008 the deteriorating economic climate in Portugal has resulted in decreasing opportunities in the labour market for Brazilian migrant workers. This negative macroeconomic evolution has contributed to a reduction in labour migration from Brazil (the number of residence permits issued between 2008 and 2010 was substantially reduced from 32,751 to less than half – 16,165). At the same time, the inflow from Brazil has always included a number of students that have sought Portugal to pursue their higher education, and in recent years, we find evidence that this group is increasing within the flow (Table 14.1). Simultaneously, we observe (i) policy measures to promote the internationalisation of Portuguese universities and an active engagement in the recruitment of international students, particularly from Brazil, and (ii) Brazilian investment in promoting the international mobility of its students (both undergraduate and postgraduate). These developments indicate that migration flows are not static over time; indeed, neither is the macroeconomic and political frameworks shaping them. This case is illustrative of how changing policy and economic frameworks also contribute to the transformation of the dynamics within the migration flows themselves. Once have been dictated predominantly by labour market opportunities, education migration has found increasing relevance in the migration relationship between Brazil and Portugal today. These changing dynamics show that multiple factors affect migration behaviours, and while labour migration may be negatively affected by the economic crisis, other flows respond differently to other policy and economic factors.

Table 14.1 Comparison of the total of Brazilian citizens with a residence permit and Brazilian students

Data from Table 14.1 in particular show how student migration flows have been strongly influenced by the mobility programme ‘Science without Borders’ sponsored by the Brazilian government (and further explained in the next section). We observe in 2013 a strong decline in the number of new permits issued to students which coincides with the withdrawal of Portugal from the programme. It is also worth noting that students are not necessarily disconnected from other migrants, with other migration motivations, trajectories or the timing of migration. In fact, students seeking Portugal also contact with previous migrants to get support, as illustrated in the quotes below.

…a cousin of mine ended up coming, but not for herself. Her husband came to do a masters and they came. I [helped her] with some knowledge, information, she even stayed at my house during the first month or something. (Danilo, professional migrant interviewed in Lisbon in 2011)

A couple, friends of mine from the university, they were living there [in Portugal] and she found me a flat to rent… they were there for work… because her husband is an engineer and had got work there… (Sandra, student in Lisbon, interviewed in Campinas, SP, Brazil in 2011)

I have a cousin, on my father’s side, who emigrated to Portugal thirteen years ago and he lives there. When I travelled there, during the first months, I stayed in his house because I had some difficulties in finding a flat near the university at a reasonable price… and before I went [to Portugal] he was the person that gave me a bit more information. (Rômulo, student in Porto, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2011)

A friend of my mother from the school years, she already lived there [in Portugal]… she lives like an hour by train from Porto. Through Orkut⁴ they met again and talking [my mother said] ‘my daughter is going to Portugal. What could you do?’ And she was the person, my guardian angel, there. She looked for a flat for me, called people… she even offered “you can come and live here [in her flat]…” (Lia, student in Porto, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2011)

Previous migrants have been important sources of support and information for students in mobility schemes moving from Brazil to Portugal. This illustrates the relevance of taking into account the broader migration contexts within which student mobility takes place and considers it in the analysis of international student migration. The existence of a migration history between Brazil and Portugal is an important supporting factor for students in mobility even though it has not been, at least explicitly in this case, an influential and determining factor.

14.3 Brazilian Students in Portuguese Higher Education: An Overview

The year of the international financial crisis (2008), which led to subsequent declining migration from Brazil (as shown above), coincides precisely with the take-off in the number of Brazilian students in higher education in Portugal. That year (2008/2009), the number of Brazilian students overtakes for the first time the contingents from Angola and Cape Verde (Fig. 14.1).

Fig. 14.1

Evolution of the number of students from Brazil, Cape Verde and Angola in higher education institutions in Portugal (Source: Survey to students enrolled and higher education graduates, DGEEC/MEC)

Between 2008 and 2012, the number of foreign residents with residence permits for higher education studies increased 109 %, mostly due to the increase in the number of Brazilian students. The dynamism of student mobility has indeed been recognised in the national strategic plan for migration 2015–2020 approved by the Portuguese government in March 2015.

The majority of these students target public higher education institutions: around 80 % between 2008 and 2012 (data from DGEEC). Between 2000/2001 and 2006/2007, the University of Porto (the largest in the country at that time, by enrolment) was the first recipient of Brazilian students. This was largely the result of an active strategy of a Vice-Chancellor who during the 1990s laid the basis for cooperation with Brazil (mentioned in different interviews with faculty directors). In this university, back in 2003, Brazilian students established an association (Brasup⁵) to provide support for newcomers, including information available online with practical tips about life in Porto (Rômulo, Brazilian student who went to the University of Porto in 2010). In 2007/2008, the University of Lisbon ranked first, but in the following year, it was supplanted by the University of Coimbra. Since that year, the University of Coimbra has gained relevance in terms of its capacity to attract Brazilian students (Fonseca et al. 2015). In the academic year 2011/2012, it clearly stands out in terms of the number of newly enrolled Brazilian students as well as in terms of their weight in the university (Table 14.2).

Table 14.2 Brazilian students enrolled for the first time in 2011/2012

The programmes sought by Brazilian students are diverse, but the most important are Law, Management and Administration, Education, Sports, Psychology and Electronics and Automation, with little variation over the years, in terms of their relative importance (Fonseca et al. 2015).

Current and former students interviewed in Portugal and Brazil indicate that the main motivations for seeking higher education studies abroad include:

• Access to funding: training abroad becomes less dependent on the students’ own resources, contrasting with the global tendency (self-funded students constitute the largest share of international students) (Altbach and Knight 2007, p. 294); the favourable economic and political context in Brazil, which has boosted funding for international student mobility through a high number of scholarships, has amplifyed access to study abroad programmes to students who would otherwise lack the means to engage in such mobility; for example, Mirtes (went to Lisbon in 2010, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro 2011) mentions: ‘… with our economy booming … it became a lot easier to travel abroad…’, and Maria (went to Aveiro in 2006, interviewed in Campinas in 2011), ‘the Brazilian Government gives incentives to undergraduate students in Brazil to gain experience abroad’. This way, the mobility of Brazilian students to Portugal is less rooted in privileged class belonging as has been found in other research (see Findlay et. al 2012).

• Building human capital and increasing returns to education upon return: students interviewed mention the need to enhance knowledge in certain scientific areas and better the curriculum vitae (CV); for example, Paula who went to the University of Coimbra (interviewed in Rio de Janeiro 2011) says: ‘… I am going to see if I can find something good there, to better my CV’. Rômulo, who went to Porto in 2010 (interviewed in Rio de Janeiro in 2011), mentions ‘… nowadays there is another flow, another boom in the emigration flow. But it is another situation, in general people go academically, to gain a specialization, do a course or study or even to develop within their profession…’. Engaging in training abroad has been considered – and promoted – and has a way of gaining further competences and bettering one’s CV, in other words, of advancing one’s human capital and increasing the returns on education upon return to the origin country, from an economic perspective. Our interviewees mention not only the ‘training’ itself but also the ‘international experience’ (also found in Findlay et al. 2012, p. 126) or the importance of building social networks abroad as a way of boosting their CVs. At the postgraduate level, the recognition of the university is important as a differentiating factor but not necessarily distinct from a prestigious university in Brazil. As Alina, a PhD student in an exchange in Lisbon, mentions: ‘I do not need a Portuguese University because no Portuguese university is better than USP (university of S. Paulo). So, I am doing a split PhD here but my diploma is from USP’. There is the idea that education induces social differentiation and that the university chosen will influence both the acquisition of knowledge and the CV (King et al. 2010: 33). However, the context analysed here subverts an often prevailing idea that higher education in the ‘Global North’ is necessarily better than in the ‘Global South’.

• Intercultural life experiences: to experience new cultures and lifestyles is also widely mentioned by students. ‘I wished to have the opportunity to visit other places, to learn from other cultures and to leave home for a while, to be away from the family’ (Júnior, Évora, 2014).

• The decision to move to Portugal specifically is, first, much influenced by the shared language: ‘… to move to any other country you need to prove proficiency in the language and I don’t have it, except for Portuguese, my English is very bad…’ (Helena, student in Évora in 2008, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro in 2011).

For Brazilian students the shared language with Portugal is a very influential factor, which goes against other realities of international student mobility that have favoured English as lingua franca in education; the agreements between higher education institutions in the two countries are also important facilitators of migration: ‘… I went to Coimbra to study at the University of Coimbra within the mobility project of the University UNIRIO’ (Nilma, went to Coimbra in 2009, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro in 2011).

In the next section, we look in more detail at how both the policy framework and strategies for higher education in both countries have fostered and influenced these changing dynamics in the Brazilian flow through the increased participation of students, in an otherwise unfavourable context to labour migration.

14.4 Policy Framework: Promotion of International Student Mobility from Brazil to Portugal

Students’ motivations for international mobility and the growth of the flow to Portugal have been largely shaped – as some of the students consciously mention – by the institutional framework that in both countries has favoured and supported such mobility.

14.4.1 In Brazil

In order to respond to the new challenges brought about by globalisation and the transition to a service economy, based on knowledge and innovation, the Brazilian Government has made, from the late 1980s, a huge investment in education and the development of the national system of scientific research (Schwartzman et al. 1993; Castro de Almeida 2001; Mazza 2008). In 1985, the Ministry for Scientific Research and Technology was set up, and from then on, several new universities and federal institutes have been created and spread throughout the country (Laus and Morosini 2005). In 2003, higher education received a new boost with the Programme REUNI, focused on restructuring and expanding Federal Universities and promoting both access and permanence in higher education. In 2004, the Brazilian Government launched the Programme University for All and in 2006 the Open University of Brazil (Góes Brennand and Góes Brennand 2012).

Alongside the qualification of human resources internally, the Brazilian Government has also taken measures to stimulate the internationalisation of its universities. For this purpose, the Forum of Consultants of Brazilian Universities for International Affairs – FAUBAI – was created in 1988, and new policy actions were implemented to promote the international cooperation and the mobility of students, namely, by creating funding schemes for undergraduate and doctoral students to study abroad, as well as by funding international projects and the mobility of postdoctoral researchers (Laus and Morosini 2005; Leite 2010). During the 1990s, after the establishment of MERCOSUL in 1991, and more specifically of SEM (its educational arm), efforts were made to establish a shared academic space between member-states with the intention of fostering human resources training and as way of stimulating the integration process already underway in the region (Siebiger 2011). At the regional level, other programmes have been implemented to further enhance international student mobility between Latin American countries.

In Brazil, at the federal level, the promotion of student international mobility has been mostly supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) through their respective agencies, CAPES (Coordination of Higher Education for Personnel Improvement, since 1951) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, since 1950), together with the Secretaries of Higher Education and Technological Education.

CAPES is an agency of the Ministry of Education whose main aim is to foster the development and consolidation of postgraduate studies (master’s and PhD) in all Brazilian states and since 2007 also to act in the training of teachers in basic education.⁶ Its activities include funding exchanges at undergraduate level and master’s and PhD programmes abroad through scholarships and other support.

In 2001, Brazil and Portugal signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Consultation, which established cooperation in the domains of education and research, including the mutual recognition of academic titles and degrees obtained in higher education institutions of the two countries. This was an important diplomatic achievement for both countries to overcome one important constraint in international student mobility, mentioned above. Between 1998 and 2011, the number of scholarships attributed for higher education studies in Portugal increased from 49 to 881. This evolution resulted mostly from strong increase in combined PhD Programmes (conducted both in Brazil and abroad) after 2004 and combined undergraduate programmes (conducted both in Brazil and abroad) after 2009.⁷ Since 2011 the mobility of Brazilian students has been strongly influenced by the implementation of the Programme Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders) created in July 2011 by the Brazilian Federal Government and officially launched in December of that same year. This programme includes the attribution of funding to pursue higher education abroad from undergraduate to postgraduate levels in a number of selected scientific fields.⁸ Until March 2015, 78,173 scholarships had been granted (of which 3,599 to study in Portugal). The vast majority of such scholarships have been granted in mixed undergraduate programmes (61,542). This programme has had a very strong impact in terms of amplifying access to tertiary education programmes abroad. In the words of a representative of this programme, Jurandir Fermon Ribeiro Júnior, in 2014, in the XXIV national postgraduate congress in Brazil: ‘… before it [Science without Borders] no undergraduate student would have the ambition of going abroad, except to do an English course for 3 months…’.⁹ By 2015, a total of 101,000 scholarships are expected to have been granted within this programme. However, in 2013 Portugal was excluded from this programme on the claim (by the Brazilian government) that such high numbers of students were seeking Portugal because of the common language, and one of the objectives of the programme is precisely to stimulate learning in other languages, such as English.¹⁰ Despite this change, Brazilian students still constitute, by far, the largest community of foreign students in higher education in Portugal (5,218 in full mobility¹¹ and 1,996 in exchange programmes¹² in the academic year 2013/2014).

Portugal has also been influenced by the implementation, since 2010, of the Programme of International Undergraduate Studies (PLI – Programa de Licenciaturas Internacionais), which aimed at improving teaching in Brazil and the quality of early training for teachers in basic education (in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Math, Portuguese, Arts and Sports). This programme stimulated combined undergraduate studies (conducted partly in Brazil and partly in Portugal and granting dual diplomas – in both countries) for undergraduate students in Brazil that were in undergraduate courses to become teachers in one of the aforementioned fields. Initially, this programme was put in place with the University of Coimbra, and since the academic year 2012/2013, it has been extended to other universities throughout the country: the New University of Lisbon, University of Beira Interior, University of Algarve, University of Aveiro, University of Évora, University of Lisbon, University of Minho, University of Porto, Technical University of Lisbon and University of Trás-os-Montes.¹³ Nevertheless, the University of Coimbra is still the higher education institution that receives most students, and some faculties within the other universities (such as the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Lisbon) have not been as successful (interview with a Faculty of Humanities representative).

Furthermore, in 2010, CAPES and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) signed an agreement with the aim of stimulating the constitution of joint research projects involving institutions in both countries, in order to promote scientific exchange between the two countries and advanced training for human resources.¹⁴ Between 2011 and 2013, a total of 99 research projects have been approved under this scheme. These projects have the duration of 2 years with the possible extension of 1 year and also include the mobility of researchers and students.

CNPq is the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, an Agency of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), which has also supported the internationalisation of higher education in Brazil. This body also provides funding to students and researchers wishing to conduct further training abroad. The number of scholarships granted also registered a strong increase in 2012 (1,721), most of them for mixed undergraduate courses (1,541). This is also related to the implementation of the programme Science without Borders, implemented jointly by CAPES and CNPq. There was a sharp decrease in 2014, due to restrictions introduced in the programme for studies to be conducted in Portugal as mentioned above.

In addition to these two federal level agencies, at the state level, there are also foundations, which, in each state, have their own funding schemes to support research, including the mobility of students and researchers. These are the so-called Fundações de Amparo à Pesquisa no Brasil (FAPs) – Foundations for the Support of Research. These institutions are included in the Brazilian scientific system and are connected to the state governments. Among their tasks they may also fund studies abroad. Enquiries made to get data from different foundations resulted in only one positive answer – from FAPESP, in the state of São Paulo. Between 2000 and 2014, this foundation supported 247 Brazilian students to pursue higher education studies in Portugal.

According to the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the period 2012–2015, between 2000 and 2010, the total number of graduates in the country increased 155 %, from 324,732 to 826,928. However, the same plan considers that training in engineering is not meeting the needs of the country, which became particularly evident at a time of accelerating growth of the Brazilian economy. Until recently, Brazil had not developed an active policy framework or strategy aimed at taking a systematic advantage of scientific and technological training obtained abroad. As a result, there was a limited number of scholarships to study abroad granted by CAPES and CNPq. This changed with the implementation of the programme Science without Borders, mentioned above, which constitutes an active promotion and investment in the acquisition of competences abroad through advanced training particularly in the fields of engineering and technology.¹⁵

14.4.2 In Portugal

The promotion of internationalisation in higher education in Portugal and the implementation of strategies aiming to recruit international students are still very recent. Fonseca and Hortas (2011) and Fonseca et al. (2015) refer to a number of incentives and programmes that have fostered faculty and student mobility: Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus and Socrates (all of them sponsored by the European Commission), the participation of Portuguese institutions in international research projects and cooperation in both higher education and research with the community of Lusophone countries (CPLP) in general and with Brazil in particular.

The current relevance given by the Portuguese Government to the recruitment of international students is clearly demonstrated by the recent publication of the Status of the International Student – Estatuto do Estudante Internacional (Decree-Law No. 36/10 March 2014), which regulates the issues pertaining to international students. This regulation creates new opportunities for the recruitment of international students, particularly from Lusophone countries and Brazil, more specifically (interview of the rector of the University of Lisbon with the Association of Foreign Press in Portugal on 11 April 2014).

The demographic transition, with declining fertility and birth rates (in 2013, Portugal’s fertility rate fell to 1.21 children per woman), combined with financial difficulties that stimulate an earlier entry into the labour market, is likely to have a negative impact on the number of students pursuing tertiary education in the country. This is already evident in the fact that the number of students enrolled, for the first time, at undergraduate level (both in public and private institutions), has declined since 2010/2011 (from 77,301 new students in 2010/2011 to 68,076 in 2012/2013). This reduction has affected mainly the private universities, although public schools have also followed a downward trajectory (58,327 new students in 2010/2011 and 55,307 in 2012/2013).¹⁶ This trend is also reflected in the decrease in the number of vacancies available in Portuguese universities. According to official data published by the General Directorate of Higher Education (DGES), in 2014, for the third consecutive year, the number of places for new undergraduate students in public universities has dropped, in response to decreasing demand and Government guidelines to eliminate courses with few students.¹⁷

To offset the negative effect of the declining number of Portuguese students applying for tertiary education, the Government has recommended that Portuguese universities increase the recruitment of foreign students. This political guideline is clearly expressed in the prologue of the Decree-Law mentioned above:

The attraction of foreign students allows institutions to enhance the use of their resources and to increase their own revenues, which can then be applied in strengthening and diversifying the education system.¹⁸

This explicit reference to the positive impact of increasing numbers of international students on universities’ own revenues cannot be taken without reference to the broader context of cutting down on public funding in place after 2008. According to the Public Funding Observatory of the European University Association, during the period 2008–2013, the total public funding in EUR provided to higher education institutions by the national government registered a decrease of nearly 11 %. After the intervention of the Troika (IMF, EC and European Central Bank) in 2011, the budget constraints imposed upon higher education institutions have been further aggravated. Between 2011 and 2013, the decrease in direct funding from the general state budget decreased 16.4 %.

Portuguese universities themselves have also been active promoters of the mobility of international students to Portugal, particularly within their respective strategies of affirming their position among Lusophone countries, mainly in Brazil. The celebration of agreements between Portuguese and Brazilian universities and the internationalisation of Portuguese researchers and teachers in Brazil have generated the constitution of networks, which have also informally stimulated the flow to Portugal. For example, an interviewee in Rio de Janeiro recalls how her sister (and other colleagues) had been stimulated by a teacher who visited Portugal regularly (as a visiting professor) to pursue further studies there, and she ended up going to the University of Aveiro for her master’s.

The main universities – of Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra – stand out in terms of the number of international students enrolled. Of these, the Universities of Coimbra and Porto have been more proactive in attracting Brazilian students to their courses. In their strategic plans for the period 2011–2015, both the Universities of Porto and Coimbra indicate the importance given to ‘internationalisation’, including the attraction of foreign students, with a particular reference to the Lusophone countries. The University of Lisbon’s activity plan for 2014 also indicates the importance of internationalisation, namely, within the Portuguese-speaking countries. As mentioned above, the rector of the University of Lisbon highlights the role of the adoption of the Status of the International Student to facilitate the attraction of Lusophone students, particularly from Brazil.

The Luso-Brazilian scholarship programme sponsored by the Santander Bank has also contributed to bring Brazilian undergraduate students to these universities for one term. In place since 2007, this programme will fund in the current academic year 170 Brazilian students from federal universities and 23 from state universities accepted in one of the universities in the programme (both Porto and Coimbra are part, while Lisbon has stopped receiving students within this scheme).

In the specific case of the University of Coimbra, which as we have seen clearly stands out in its capacity to attract Brazilian students, its historical importance and the prestige associated to it in Brazil have always contributed to attract Brazilian students, as the quotes below illustrate:

I decided to focus on the two universities in Portugal and from the two I thought that the University of Coimbra, because of its history… all the research in my field in Biology, the research more… more focused on what I do and I ended up opting for Coimbra. (Nilma, 2009, Coimbra, interviewed in Rio de Janeiro in 2011).

I already knew of the University of Coimbra, by name. Within the field of Law I had always heard about the University of Coimbra… (Isabella, Coimbra, 2001, interviewed in Lisbon)

In addition, in recent years, Coimbra has adopted a number of strategies that have largely contributed to increase the number of Brazilian students. The University has pursued an active policy of signing agreements with Brazilian Universities. In 2010, it introduced the PLI (Programme of International Undergraduate Studies) mentioned above. It has also had a starring role in the implementation of the programme ‘Science Without Borders’ in Portugal (Fonseca et al. 2015) – the university received 850 students funded by the programme, corresponding to around 27 % of the total (3,166) granted in Portugal.¹⁹ The University of Lisbon (former University of Lisbon and Technical University of Lisbon) and the University of Porto received, respectively, 586 and 592 students. Furthermore, the University has advertised that for the academic year 2014/2015, Brazilian students can apply directly to its undergraduate courses with the grades obtained in a Brazilian Exam – ENEM (Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio).²⁰ This is likely to further increase the number of Brazilian students enrolled at this institution. Two other universities, Aveiro and Beira Interior, have also announced the same strategy, which reveals the interest of other universities in attracting Brazilian students as well.²¹ The University of Coimbra’s website also has the particularity of being the only of the three showing a specific link for Brazilian applicants. It also hosts an association of Brazilian Students and Researchers in Coimbra (ABEP), and in 2013 the Casa da Lusofonia (House of Lusophony) was created as joint project of seven Lusophone countries.

14.5 Students’ Perspectives: What Are the Shortcomings of These Strategies?

While the different actors involved in the process of international student mobility – origin state, host institutions and the students – seem to converge around the positive dimensions of such mobility, in what appears to be a win-win situation, it is crucial to look at the lived experiences of the students who do the actual moving. How do they handle it? What challenges and obstacles do they encounter? How are expectations met?

The testimonies of the students interviewed illustrate a clear paradox. On the one hand, there is (i) clearly a strong investment made by the Brazilian Government to provide academic experiences abroad to Brazilian university students, within an overall strategy of improving national human capital to foster economic growth and (ii) active recruitment strategies employed by Portuguese institutions of higher education to attract Brazilian students. On the other, upon return to Brazil, students often fail to find a matching entrance into the labour market. At the same time, Portugal has not been able to benefit from ‘student migration as a form of global talent recruitment embedded within the globalization of higher education’ (Findlay 2011, p. 165). This is because students are often ‘required’ by their funding schemes to return to Brazil, the low labour market demand in Portugal, as a result of the 2008 economic crisis, combined with a lack of coherent government strategies to retain talent in the country.

Additionally, experiences in Portugal reveal that student mobility is not restricted to the academic sphere but very importantly also involves other domains of the students’ life. Indeed, focusing on international student mobility in its academic dimension alone fails to recognise that it offers a much more encompassing life experience, as Juliana (a student in Coimbra) illustrates:

It was a lot more incredible than I had thought… I highly recommend it because it is a jump that you take, a life experience. The academic part was important but not the most important.

In fact, several students refer to how the academic experience failed to fulfil the expectations of studying at a ‘European university’ but that the mobility became rather a life enhancing experience. For some, the merit of the international mobility became more social and cultural rather than strictly academic. Thus, the advantages associated with international study stretch beyond the pursuit of academic credentials in recognised top universities to include the cultivation of a more cosmopolitan identity (Beck 2004) or the acquisition of transnational social networks, as the following quotes illustrate:

Regarding the studies, we reduced our expectations because we expected more in terms of learning. But I think that our experience was amazing, because I think the exchange is not only to take your subjects in another place, we met people from all over the world and that gives you a whole new vision of the world. (Joana, student in Évora)

I would recommend it but with caution… It did not correspond to my expectations in terms of the dynamism of the course. I expected it would be better… Based on my experience, I grew more as a person. (Lisa, studied in Coimbra)

[The experience was positive] more because of other factors, such as personal and cultural development, things that don’t show up in your CV. (Cristina, Lisboa, 2010)

It was a great experience. I was charmed by the city of Évora every day. I would highly recommend it. It was worth the experience of meeting the people from there, even to change a bit the vision I had of Europe, Portugal… because it was an European university I expected that the academic standards would be a bit higher. (Bethania, Évora, 2013)

In April 2015, the Centre of Social Studies of the University of Coimbra organised the seminar: ‘Brazilian Students in Coimbra: Intercultural Policy or Market Strategy?’ The title itself suggests a potential tension/conflict between two of the most relevant dimensions or gains resulting from international student mobility: the economic benefits, especially for the host country’s institutions and the development of intercultural understanding, favouring both the student engaging in mobility and his/her academic community, most immediately in the host country but also in the long run, upon return to the origin country. In this event students and researchers intended to make their claims visible in a context of expanding international education. In particular, the organisers highlight that international students are incorporated not only into an academic institution and community but also into the city where that institution is located. This important dimension is very relevant in Coimbra, a mid-sized ‘university-city’, where the presence of students is very visible and an important motor for the city itself. At this seminar students voiced their view that because of the financial difficulties that the University of Coimbra was experiencing, the market-driven and microeconomic administration, focused on ever increasing the number of students enrolled, has impacted academic quality, with consequences for most students.

On the one hand, active recruitment strategies are attracting increasing numbers of Brazilian students, and on the other, faculty complain that they are not prepared to receive these students. In the students’ view, Portuguese professors are not aware of what the ‘Brazilian student’ is like. The shared language has overshadowed other differentiating factors in terms of student behaviour and academic attitude, which only become evident when these students join the classes in Portugal. Therefore, recognising the differences in ‘academic cultures’ would have positive effects in facilitating the inclusion of Brazilian students into the host institutions’ academic environments. In addition, this would include acknowledgement of the cultural, social and symbolic capital students bring with them from their countries of origin and previous academic training. Nevertheless, several students interviewed highlight a very positive experience upon arrival resulting from the welcome programmes, especially developed in the international relations departments of host universities. This includes ‘welcome kits’, mentoring by Portuguese students and social events involving Portuguese and foreign students.

In addition to academic integration, students encounter difficulties in the city of Coimbra itself, as they feel discriminated, for example, in the housing market. Some of the students interviewed had opted to live in Lisbon while studying in Coimbra. The choice of the city and the life it offers is very important, particularly within the framework of student mobility, both as an academic and a lifestyle experience.

14.6 Concluding Remarks

The data presented here reveals that at a time of economic crisis in Portugal resulting in strong decrease in labour migration from Brazil, other contextual and policy factors have produced an increase in the number of students from the same country. The framework influencing this increase combines both the interest and investment of the Brazilian Government and institutions of higher education in stimulating the international mobility of Brazilian students as well as the interest and strategies developed in Portugal to attract them. The common language combined with the historical cooperation developed between Portuguese and Brazilian higher education institutions largely explains why the main Portuguese universities have been developing strategies to attract Brazilian students. Discourses emanating from Portuguese universities largely reflect the intention of establishing ‘quality’ academic circulation between Brazil and Portugal, looking mostly at consolidating partnerships with well-established, mostly public, universities in Brazil. However, students’ testimonies reveal that attracting ‘numbers’ has gained prevalence over providing quality education for Brazilian students. From the perspective of Portugal, in the context of shrinking state funding to the university system and the declining number of Portuguese students applying for tertiary education – due both the population ageing and to the effects of the economic crisis – the recruitment of international students appears to be an important alternative source of revenue. Immediate economic objectives seem to be the main motivation pushing universities towards the recruitment of Brazilian students.

In order to consolidate its recent economic growth, Brazil has been confronted with the need to improve the qualifications of its working force. Given the lack of capacity within Brazilian universities to respond to such needs, both in terms of places available and intellectual capital, the Brazilian state (at the federal and state levels) has actively promoted the international mobility of its students and researchers.

However, students’ experiences reveal that to ‘study abroad’ is much more than simply academic and is embedded in an increasingly powerful ‘mobility culture’ that attaches symbolic capital to the very performance of international living (Findlay et al. 2012, p. 128), as Neusa (student in Coimbra in 2009) clearly states: ‘… if during your training you spent some time abroad that is well regarded’.

For Brazilian students in international mobility schemes in Portugal, the academic dimension seems to be the weak point, in contrast to what has been thought to be the role of joining a ‘high-quality’ academic institution as a driver of international student mobility in other contexts. However, students are initially motivated by the prospect of studying at a European university and only after arrival become confronted with falling expectations and the valorisation of other ‘personal development’ factors. Significant international student mobility between Brazil and Portugal is a recent phenomenon that is only beginning to take shape in both countries, with ongoing developments taking place on both sides. With time, it is likely that continuing feedback on the experiences in Portugal will have an impact on future student flows. This is certainly a matter worthy of continuing research.