Undergraduate Kent Law School students are invited to express their interest by 14.00 on Friday 6 January
Last summer, and for the second year running, undergraduate law students from Kent enjoyed an opportunity to attend a two-week Virtual Summer School on Brazilian Studies thanks to a long-standing research collaboration between academics at the Law School and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte. And now it returns from a virtual opportunity to being held in person in 2023.
The Summer School is returning to an in person opportunity in 2023 and one lucky undergraduate law student will be offered a scholarship to attend, worth USD1,000.00. This will cover the course fee, extracurricular activities and field trips, accommodation at the University Housing, three meals per day (from Monday to Friday) and transportation within university grounds. Travel to Belo Horizonte and other ancillary expenses will need to be met by the student.
Over 15 days in July, the UFMG Summer School offers a solid background in Brazil and Brazilian studies. Topics covered include politics, history, foreign affairs, economy, geography, law, and arts and culture. There’s also an opportunity to take introductory classes in Portuguese language (the sixth most spoken language in the world).
Philippa attended the Summer School virtually in 2022. She explains ‘It was an amazing experience plus the hot weather at home and online Portuguese classes almost felt like I was in Brazil!. Every session was captivating (my favourites were the history and politics lectures). They all merged and interlinked perfectly to reflect what Brazil is today and its development as a country. It moved away from the stereotypical / surface level ideas about Brazil and to something richer, more vulnerable and real.
Although informative on Brazilian society, it raised much deeper cultural and societal questions, like our reactions to political change. I learnt about Brazil but also about the world, about people and society. It was truly eye opening.’
Laura Charleton, Senior Lecturer and Director of International Legal Studies at Kent Law School is excited to offer a scholarship to a law student from Kent, thanks to the generosity of UFMG. ‘I was extremely fortunate to visit colleagues at UFMG in the beautiful city of Belo Horizonte this year. I received such a warm welcome, and the link between our institutions is a valuable, enriching opportunity. Earlier this year, the UFMG Law Graduate Program achieved the highest possible score in a country-wide evaluation, which is the first time it has been awarded to a Law Graduate program in Brazil. It is so exciting that a law student from Kent will have the opportunity to benefit from their expertise in teaching and research in person in 2023, having had two years of brilliant virtual opportunities.’
How to apply…
Undergraduate law students at Kent keen to express their interest in securing the scholarship to attend the Summer School in Brazilian Studies with UFMG must submit a letter of motivation and CV to Laura Charleton by 14.00 on Friday 6th January – students should check their Kent inbox for all the details.