BCCIE, in collaboration with Brazilian higher education partner REARI-RJ, held its first roundtable this week at the Canadian Consulate General in the Olympic City of Rio de Janeiro. This event followed last year’s BCCIE/REARI-RJ MOU signing. 
 
REARI-RJ is a network of 13 leading universities and institutes formed by the international relations departments from the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The MOU provides a platform towards strengthening academic collaboration, mobility and partnership between our respective jurisdictions. The Roundtable was seen as a successful first initiative in advancing International Education interests between BC and the state of Rio de Janeiro.
 
A variety of themes were covered including discussion on strengthening reciprocal mobility, increasing faculty and administration exchange, and an exploration on the opportunities related to the growing trend of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). A number of action items were identified from the discussion including the generation of a database of courses offered through REARI-RJ in both Portuguese and English. BCCIE looks forward to sharing this resource once available. 
 
In addition to REARI-RJ, BCCIE and our colleagues from the Consulate General the following BC institutions also participated:

• Douglas College
• Farleigh Dickinson University
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Simon Fraser University|English Language and Culture Program 
• The Art Institutes
• Vancouver Film School

For more information about this partnership and/or connecting with REARI-RJ please contact Colin Doerr, Director, Communications and Programs at cdoerr@bccie.bc.ca.