The study visit to the "Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina" is not part of my Master's program in Management of Textile Trade and Technology at the Hochschule Niederrhein. Nevertheless, I wanted to write my research paper in cooperation with a research institute.
Since I have already lived in India and traveled a lot in Asia, the other side of the world, Latin America, appealed to me. The website of The Hochschule Niederrhein showed a single cooperation between the Hochschule Niederrhein and in Latin America, the "Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina" (UFSC) in Florianópolis, Brazil. Especially important for my decision to do my research was the location, so Florianópolis was a very good option in terms of nature, recreational opportunities and culture.
Since this cooperation only exists with the faculty of mechanical engineering, I asked the academic international office for a contact at the UFSC. With the help of this contact, the referral to the research institute GEPPS was very easy and a supervisor was organized for me directly.
So I was able to do my research work in the field of product and process optimization at the UFSC and the topic was coordinated together with my supervisor in Brazil. An application in this sense was no longer necessary.
The student visa for Brazil is very time-consuming and involves more costs than I had previously expected. For the application of the visa, especially the confirmation of the host university is necessary, that worked out very well with the contact at the UFSC. The visa can be applied for in three different consulates, Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, whereby there are differences in the regulations from consulate to consulate. I chose the consulate in Frankfurt because they do not require a return ticket.
Once in Brazil, as a student you must go to the Policia Federal within 30 days to register and have a temporary Brazilian passport made. Beforehand, an appointment must be requested on the website, which turned out to be a complicated bureaucratic procedure, as appointments are only available during a certain time. Furthermore, it is helpful to apply for a kind of social security number "CPF" in the first days in order to be able to make certain flight bookings, buy a sim card and enroll in sports courses at the university.
When looking for housing, there are generally two options: First, you can live with Brazilians near the university, i.e. Itacorubi or Trinidade, and second, there is the possibility to live with exchange students in Lagoa de Conceição near the beach and the lake. Since I had no mandatory classes at the university and it was my priority to live at the beach, I decided to live in the area "Rio Tavares". Rio Tavares borders "Lagoa", being more neighborly and authentic as opposed to the touristy town of Lagoa. I found my room in advance in Germany through the Facebook group "Intercambistas Floripa 2018 - Foreign Students in Florianopolis / Floripa". However, it is not a problem to find a room locally, so you can also stay in the hostel for the first days, at best in Lagoa.
My study stay served for the completion of my research thesis, so I did not attend any regular events. However, all events are held in Portuguese and can be attended by exchange students. Since my Portuguese was very limited at the beginning, I decided to participate only in language courses of the UFSC, which are, however, subject to a fee. Furthermore, the university offers a wide range of sports courses, which also have a fee.
The stay at the research institute GEPPS was very interesting and I was given a lot of freedom regarding my presence in the institute and my topic. The contact with the professors is much more personal than in Germany and the other students at the institute were also very helpful, in addition to my supervisor.
I chose Florianópolis with the background that the island offers a lot of sports opportunities and nature. Surfing, sandboarding and standup paddling are especially popular. There are 42 beaches and many "trihlas", hiking trails to different beaches. Furthermore, the island is one of the safest places in Brazil.
The cost of living in Florianópolis is not too different from Germany. Depending on the exchange rate, you can expect to pay about 200-300 euros a month for rent. With various leisure activities and food, you have to reckon with about 600 euros a month. My stay abroad was partially financed by Promos with 300 Euro per month.
Florianópolis, Floripa or also called "ilha da magia" among the locals, means as much as "the magic island". The time here on the island was indeed very magical for me and I would recommend this place to anyone for a semester abroad. The language and the bureaucratic regulations make it difficult to get started, but you also get used to these difficulties and can be happy about a newly learned language at the end.
