A ÁFRICA E A INTERNACIONALIZAÇÃO NAS UNIVERSIDADES BRASILEIRAS: ANÁLISE INICIAL SOBRE AS POLÍTICAS DE MOBILIDADE INTERNACIONAL DA USP E DO PROGRAMA CIÊNCIAS SEM FRONTEIRAS ENTRE 2011 E 2019

Abstract

This essay aims to discuss academic mobility between Brazilian universities and higher education institutions in African countries, in the context of the internationalization process observed in the 2010s, with a particular focus on the University of São Paulo (USP) and its Faculty of Education. The paper begins with a critical analysis of the concept of diversity, often mentioned by rectors and former rectors as an important element of academic internationalization. The investigation delves into the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data on academic mobility, highlighting the Science without Borders program (2011-2017) and the postgraduate exchange scholarships offered by federal universities, with special attention to USP's internationalization data. The results indicate a predominance of agreements and academic mobility with North American and European institutions, to the detriment of African universities. In the context of the Science without Borders program, we found that less than 1% of the more than 90,000 grants awarded went to African countries, with South Africa being the only country on the continent to receive them. Furthermore, of the fifty units that have agreements with foreign universities, only twelve have agreements with African universities. However, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH-USP) are making an active effort to internationalize, in contrast to the general trend. The essay also addresses the phenomenon of epistemic racism in internationalization, evidenced by the valorization of European institutions to the detriment of the epistemic capacities of African universities. This study concludes that, despite the rhetoric in favour of diversity, the practice of internationalization in Brazilian universities, particularly at USP, reveals a preference for partnerships with the global North, neglecting potential collaborations with the African continent.